Story by Trisha Chakraborty
Staff Writer
Photo by Madeline Madrigal
Staff Photographer
On Nov. 5, South Pasadena residents will vote on whether or not to uphold the city’s current building height limits. The proposed ordinance would increase the allowed building heights in high-density areas of South Pasadena, such as the Fair Oaks and Mission Street corridors, while still ensuring the preservation of the city’s single-family neighborhoods.
The new height ordinance is an important part of South Pasadena’s Housing Element, which is a state-mandated policy document outlining how the city intends to meet the housing needs of the population. At the start of the city’s planning cycle in 2019, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) assigned South Pasadena an obligation of planning for the addition of 2067 new housing units based on the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), a state-mandated process to quantify the need for housing within each SCAG jurisdiction.
South Pasadena was only required to plan for the addition of 63 new housing units during the city’s previous planning cycle. The significant jump in municipal responsibility reflects a broader demand for housing supply in California and the state’s efforts to increase access to it.
The city’s latest and most recently state-approved draft of its Housing Element was adopted by the City Council in May of 2023. Following a series of community meetings and public engagement events, the Housing Element was drafted and approved by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on the principle that increased housing would aim to improve the city’s downtown experience while still preserving the single-family neighborhood charm integral to South Pasadena’s character.
It is important to note, however, that the Housing Element was adopted under the presumption that South Pasadena residents would approve an increase in the city’s building height limit.
Currently, the building height limit rests at a maximum of 45 feet in high-density housing areas. However, in order to meet the RHNA requirement of 2067 new housing units, the City Council was required to draft its Housing Element to allow for buildings at least 84 feet tall.
This increase in building height would only take effect in South Pasadena’s high-density areas, such as downtown Fair Oaks and Mission Street, as well as parts of Huntington Drive. The city supports this new development under the belief that new density in South Pasadena’s downtown area would facilitate a more robust and walkable experience for residents.
Additionally, the city’s focus on upward expansion in specifically high-density locations is indicative of an effort to protect the building heights in single-family neighborhoods. In this way, South Pasadena can accommodate more housing units without expanding outwards into lower-density areas, preventing what some call “horizontal sprawl.”
Likely the most compelling case for increasing the building height limit are the consequences that the city would face should the new height ordinance be rejected. In order for the city to maintain local control on zoning, development standards, and state funding, it must adopt a state-certified Housing Element that is contingent upon a building height limit of at least 84 feet in high density zones.
In 2023, when the City of La Cañada failed to meet housing element regulations (through the denial of an affordable housing project), it faced a legal punishment known as “Builder’s Remedy,” where developers have jurisdiction over the city’s zoning and design standards. Similarly, the state denied home renovation and remodel permits for the City of Beverly Hills after they failed to create a state-mandated affordable housing plan.
In the spring of 2022, the City of South Pasadena was sued by Californians for Homeownership, a non-profit legal firm responsible for the litigation of multiple cities that failed to enforce state-mandated housing reform. Although the lawsuit was settled in April 2022, its closure remains contingent on South Pasadena’s updated Housing Element, which requires a repeal of the city’s current height limit.
South Pasadena is facing increasing pressure to meet state housing mandates, and the outcome of the height ordinance vote will have long-term implications for the city’s landscape and local control. This November, South Pasadena voters will decide whether to embrace taller buildings in the push to comply with state housing obligations, or to maintain current height limits and risk state intervention.
