Category Archives: Pasadena

City of Quartz Panel at LitFest in the Dena 2024

Excavating the Future in Los Angeles: A Discussion of Mike Davis’s City of Quartz
Sunday, May 5, 2024, 2:00-3:00pm
LitFest in the Dena, Mountain View Mausoleum, Altadena, CA
With fellow panelists, Ivan Salinas & Mike The PoeT Sonksen

Bio:
Jonathan Pacheco Bell is a Senior Embedded Planner at 4LEAF, Inc. and Adjunct Professor of Urban Planning at Cal Poly Pomona. Born in Boyle Heights and raised in East LA and Montebello, Jonathan came up as a graffiti writer in the 90s creating art and culture on the ground. For nearly 20 years, Jonathan has worked in South Central LA building community partnerships through street-level urban planning. He turned his methods into a new form of practice called Embedded Planning – where the planner works in and from community spaces. He has guest lectured across the U.S. on bottom-up urban planning and is always searching for the next space to engage community members. In addition to teaching and practice, Jonathan serves as Vice President of the Florence-Firestone Community Organization, a 501c3 nonprofit in South Central. He is co-author of the neighborhood history book, A Paseo Through Time in Florence-Firestone. His writing has been published in Planning Magazine, Cultural Daily, UrbDeZine, and Public Libraries Quarterly. Jonathan holds a Master’s in Urban Planning from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and proudly represents City of Pasadena as a resident in the city’s vibrant and diverse District 5.

Pasadena’s ADU Ordinance Remains Broken. Here’s How to Fix it.

Pasadena ADU Ordinance Update Community Meeting

I was unable to attend tonight’s ADU ordinance community meeting hosted by Pasadena Planning Department. In lieu of in-person commentary, I emailed this public comment letter to staff.

My position hasn’t changed from June 19, 2017, when Pasadena City Council voted against a comprehensive ADU ordinance update advanced by our housing coalition. 

As it stands today, Pasadena’s ADU ordinance remains broken. But we can fix it. The Pasadena City Council must drop its excessively-cautious, comfy-centrist, shortsighted, nostalgic, legally dubious, “I only wanna maintain votes in my SFR zones” mentality, and instead adopt a comprehensive ADU ordinance update that provides a safe and legal pathway for ADUs for working folks. 

How to fix Pasadena’s Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance 

ADU ordinance - Pasadena
My opening argument supporting a more equitable ADU ordinance in Pasadena

Read my latest public comment letter to Pasadena City Council on the proposed amendments to the ADU ordinance.

The Council caved to NIMBY pressure and rejected the Pasadena Planning Department’s proposal for a more equitable ordinance.

More to come.

ADU Ordinance Update-Public Comment 19 June 2017-Jonathan P Bell

An Open Letter to the Pasadena City Council Urging a Comprehensive Overhaul of the Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance

Read my “Open Letter to the Pasadena City Council Urging a Comprehensive Overhaul of the Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance,” published on UrbDeZine.

The Pasadena City Council will consider an amended ordinance tomorrow, Monday, Jan 30th at a 7pm public hearing. The amendment does the bare minimum to comply with the state’s relaxed standards for building an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in your backyard. While the Pasadena Planning Commission removed some of the problematic standards, many “poison pills,” as I call them, remain in place.

Among the many ridiculous hurdles codified into the ordinance is a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet to build an ADU in a backyard. So unless you’re a wealthy estate owner, no granny flats here. The inequality is real af.

The original Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance was broken from the start. The amended ordinance remains unfair and unfeasible. There’s no date for the “anticipated comprehensive review” of the ordinance as part of Pasadena’s Housing Element Implementation Program. So my call for a comprehensive overhaul of the ADU ordinance remains unfulfilled.

http://losangeles.urbdezine.com/2017/01/29/pasadena-overhaul-second-dwelling-unit-ordinance/

adu-ordinance-at-pasadena-city-council

Local Press Supports our Demand for ADU Ordinance Overhaul in Pasadena

We’re winning the battle to overhaul the City of Pasadena‘s Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance. Building off our successful lobbying at #Pasadena Planning Commission, we’ve earned support from the local press.

In a 12/21 editorial published in the Pasadena Star News and San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Editorial Board backed our calls for ADU law reforms. They quoted me, and even used my “poison pill” fighting words.

pasadena-star-news

 

An Open Letter to the Pasadena Planning Commission Urging a Comprehensive Overhaul of the Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance

screenshot-2016-12-12-21-49-12

On December 14, 2016, the Pasadena Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider an amendment to the Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance. The update is required to comply with the relaxed standards in AB 2299 and SB 1069.

As proposed, the revised Ordinance achieves only minimum compliance with the new housing laws while leaving in place several “poison pill” criteria that discourage new accessory units. This is unacceptable.

Read my Open Letter to the Pasadena Planning Commission urging an overhaul of the Second Dwelling Unit Ordinance [published at UrbDeZine.com]

http://losangeles.urbdezine.com/2016/12/12/an-open-letter-to-the-pasadena-planning-commission-and-city-planning-staff-demanding-a-comprehensive-update-to-the-second-dwelling-unit-ordinance/

 

Latino Informal Housing panel at APA-CA 2016 in Pasadena, Sat 10/22/16


Interested in informal housing? Los Angeles? Latino Urbanism? Attend our talk, “Crafting mi casa: Lessons of Latino Informal Housing Practice in Los Angeles” at the 2016 APA California Conference: Crafting our Future – The Art of Planning in Pasadena, Saturday, October 22, 2016.

Mark Vallianatos, James Rojas, Vinit Mukhija, and I will examine the visual, spatial, policy and regulatory implications this practice has in planning multicultural Los Angeles.

https://planning.org/events/activity/9107473/

OVERVIEW: Latino homeowners renovate their homes based on imagination, needs, and know-how — sometimes without proper permits. This cultural practice has been happening for decades, producing some of the most innovative housing typologies and construction practices, and redefining the basic dwelling unit in Los Angeles. Despite its ingenuity, Latino informal housing development runs into considerable urban planning obstacles. Rigid municipal codes imbued with middle class values render informal units illegal. Rising numbers of tragedies resulting from fires in substandard garage conversions underscore legitimate safety concerns. NIMBYism stifles efforts to build accessory units in Single-Family Residential zones. And in the midst of an acute housing crisis, restrictive zoning and land use laws both discourage and obstruct opportunities to build legally in communities. Planners can learn a lot from the lessons of Latino informal housing practice. This panel will examine the visual, spatial, policy, and regulatory implications Latino informal housing practice has in planning multicultural Los Angeles County.

AICP CM 1.5 units, Course No. 9107473

#APACA2016 #LosAngeles #InformalHousing

ADU ordinance overhaul in Pasadena has begun


TONIGHT: I joined housing advocates for a frank discussion of accessory dwelling units and informal housing with Pasadena Planning Director David Reyes and staff. Shout out to City of Pasadena Planning Department. The struggle to enact a fairer ADU ordinance has begun.

Latino Informal Housing panel at 2016 APA CA in Pasadena

I’m moderating a session on Latino informal housing at the APA CA Conference in Pasadena, October 22-25, 2016

Join me, Mark Vallianatos, James Rojas, and Vinit Mukhija as we examine the visual, spatial, policy and regulatory implications this practice has in planning multicultural Los Angeles.

Session:

“Crafting Mi Casa: Lessons of Latino Informal Housing Practices in Los Angeles”

Location:

Pasadena Convention Center

Day/time:

Saturday, October 22, 2016, 2:45p to 4:15p

#APACA2016

#LosAngeles 

#InformalHousing