Protect Altadena: SB 1090 Gives Families Time to Rebuild

N. Lake Ave. in Altadena (Photo – W.K.)

Altadena has long been one of the few places in California where Black families have been able to build true generational wealth through land and homeownership.

By Veronica Jones

Nearly 80 percent of Altadena’s homes were owner-occupied before the Eaton Fire. More than 75 percent of Black residents owned their homes, and many of those properties had been held by Black families for generations. Property ownership has long been one of the most powerful pathways to economic security in the United States — a cornerstone of the American dream.

In the aftermath of the fires, as families grieve and face extraordinary vulnerability, opportunists are rushing to profit: splitting lots, shrinking long-held family properties, and inviting outside developers seeking enormous financial gain. That is not equity — it is exploitation. Black households were disproportionately affected by the Eaton Fire and now face an uphill battle to rebuild.

SB 9 and SB 1123 do not protect these families. These bills fast-track outside investors who would carve up neighborhoods and permanently reshape property ownership in Altadena. Generational wealth is not built by dividing land — it is built by keeping it. Our community cannot afford to repeat the long national history of dismantling established Black neighborhoods and disregarding families with deep generational roots.

The right way to move forward is to preserve these lots so families can rebuild and return home — with multigenerational housing, shared family property, long-term stability, and wealth passed down rather than sold off piece by piece. Allowing speculative development to take hold now would interrupt the transfer of generational wealth to younger Black families and accelerate the erasure of Altadena’s historic Black community.

SB 1090 provides what our community urgently needs: time and protection. Without it, we create opportunities only for those who care nothing about our community’s future and are seeking quick financial gain — and we open the door to the displacement of families with generational roots in Altadena. This would happen at the very moment families are most vulnerable. Nothing is more unjust than using this time of loss, vulnerability, and grief to justify policies that strip away what generations have worked to build.

Veronica Jones, president of the Altadena Historical Society, offers this commentary in her personal capacity.