Pasadena’s plan for 9,400 units of new housing in the next eight years is set to soon be delivered to the state for approval, but not everybody believes it has the teeth to tear through the affordable housing crisis.
Councilman John Kennedy compared the 2021-2029 draft housing element, a document created every eight years and mandated by the state outlining a municipality’s plan to construct housing, to a daft fairy tale during a public discussion Monday, Aug. 2.
After confirming the current draft does not affirmatively guarantee the development of roughly 9,500 new units of housing, Kennedy said, “I have a strong feeling that the housing element, as currently written, reminds me of a fantasy movie many of us watched as a kid: ‘The Wizard of Oz.’”
After extensively detailing the plot of the 1939 film, Kennedy evoked its major themes, saying, “to solve the housing crisis in Pasadena, it will take brains, it will take many hearts beating together and it will take courage unseen as of yet.”
And because there are literally thousands of people, “who once lived in Pasadena who have no ruby slippers but would like to come back home to Pasadena,” Kennedy said, ”the 2021-2029 housing element must be different from past documents,” and council has the ability to make it so.
“And I hope we do that,” Kennedy concluded after he encouraged residents to avoid being the Wizard of Oz offering Dorothy a ride home in the hot air balloon — “a metaphor for those who talk home but are unwilling to do what is necessary to create a number of houses mandated,” he said.
Ed Washatka, who recently rallied alongside dozens of residents outside of City Hall, agreed with the sentiment when he took center stage to address the quality of the draft report this week.
Taking aim at the element’s lack of “actionable policies and definitive deadlines,” Washatka called on the City Council to consider some of the 28 policies that the Pasadena Affordable Housing Coalition wishes to see implemented.
Nearly two dozen coalition members echoed Washatka during public comment, asking for city leaders to go a step further and address the needs of the community’s unsheltered residents through tiny homes or other housing programs taken up in cities across the state.
But Planning Director David Reyes reminded residents the state doesn’t require a city to produce and build a certain number of units.
“Cities are not developers,” Reyes said, later stating: “It certainly is our city’s goal through the established policies that we have. … But it’s not the housing element’s job to produce housing. That’s not what the state holds any city to.”
Washatka and members of the coalition said they recognize the intricacies of the process and “respectfully disagree” with staff’s belief that several of the group’s recommendations are public policy matters that may be suitable for consideration outside of the housing element process.
Pastor Brita Pinkston, who held a rally of her own this weekend, reiterated Monday that some of her peers in Pasadena are looking to build nearly 1,000 units of housing on their properties as soon as possible; however their hands are tied until zoning laws are changed.
“So as a pastor,” Pinkston said, “I (state) that the rezoning of religious land for affordable housing is not only a good idea, but it’s been needlessly delayed and needs to be put back on the agenda as soon as possible.”
As it currently stands, the draft housing element lists “create standards and a review process for the establishment of housing on religious institutions” as an objective. But the time frame to accomplish that is by 2025.
Residents believe this is too long to wait, but Reyes added Monday, “I don’t think that necessarily a housing element, given the timeframe that the state gives to us, is the appropriate way to make all of this really important policy.”
Reyes does believe the housing element will meet state requirements, “but that’s not going to be the end of the story,” Reyes said. “It’s a step in the process.”
The council agreed with him before unanimously directing staff to send the draft housing element to the California Housing and Community Development Department for approval and work to maximize the production of affordable housing and improve tenant protections.
