A rendering of the proposed 3200 East Foothill Boulevard exterior (Photo – trammellcrow.com).
After a two-week hiatus, the Pasadena City Council returned to business Monday night, beginning with a ceremonial display of brainpower—not theirs, but a gathering of scientists to highlight a week of extraterrestrial-oriented activity capped by an “AstroFest,” a celebration to acknowledge the connection the Pasadena area has with the study and exploration of outer space.
By Garrett Rowlan
“Pasadena is the center of the astrological universe,” said Mayor Terry Tornek, after Janice Lee of Caltech had presented the group.
Then it was on to business, in particular the consideration of a massive 550-unit, multi-use project at 3200 East Foothill. The area, presently an industrial zoned space between the 210 freeway and Foothill, west of Hastings Ranch, is 8.5 acres of space to build structures to ease Pasadena’s housing crisis. The proposed development, by the Trammell Crow Company, will demolish 23 buildings but preserve several monuments redolent of the site’s previous use by Caltech and the United States Navy, including a torpedo monument and a water tank.
Its location, right next to the 210 freeway, also raised concerns, particularly from Vice-Mayor John Kennedy, who cited newspaper articles decrying the dangers of buildings next to freeways and the resultant deleterious air quality. Other concerns were the already-polluted substrata of the area, and if lingering toxins would remain after the cleanup, and the effect on traffic in the area was noted, too.
In the end, the Council rejected Gene Masuda’s motion to reject the Staff recommendation of a go on the project. In a process like legislative algebra, two negatives made a positive—a tentative go on the development, pending the input of Councilmember Victor Gordo, who was absent.
Pasadena City Council meeting on Monday, July 9, 2018 (Photo – Garrett Rowlan).
Open public comment
Earlier in the evening, in open public comment, people pointed to the need of addressing the homeless problem in Pasadena, and the languishing Heritage Square south project, a proposed site to aid in the struggle to house the homeless, particularly senior citizens. Also, attorney Christopher Sutton presented images of blighted property on St John’s, property owned by Caltrans and left to rot. Sutton wanted the Council to put the heat on Caltrans, to get some way of freeing this property for more needed use.
Earlier in the evening, a poem by Sybil Garcia, entitled “Poets Live Among Us,” was read to the council. While the scientific nature of the upcoming “AstroFest” may not have room for aliens, at least we have poets who are “extracting luminescence” from everyday life and that is “bringing back our souls.”
> Watch the full Pasadena City Council meeting for Monday, July 9, 2018.
Garrett Rowlan attends and provides a recap of Pasadena City Council meetings every time they’re in session.
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