28
Plariiiing June 2005
By P a u l Sli i *r 1
Lead'
It's 10 minutes past noon on a gorgeous Thursday,
AND THE UNE at Father Nature's Lavish Wraps
on DeLacy Street in Old Pasadena is out the
door. In fact, restaurants throughout the district are jammed with the engineers, computer geeks, and financial analysts who work
within easy walking distance. But what makes
this downtown special is that it will be packed
^ain tonight—and the next night, and the
entire weekend.
Pasadena Mayor William Bogaard says central Pasadena is a 16/6 district, not 24/7, but
he might be selling it short. The throngs on
the sidewalks of Colorado Boulevard can be as
thick on Sunday afternoon as at any other
timeof the week.
"Pasadena is an urban place," says the city's
former development administrator, Marsha
Rood, FAICP. "It isn't suburban. That gets
overlooked."
Although Pasadena (pop. 144,000) lies only
about 12 miles northeast of downtown Los
Angeles, the smaller city has its own sense of
place. It's a place that the rest of the nation
knows about because many television viewers
spend the better part of New Year's Day
watching the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl
college football game. Those two events alone
set Pasadena apart, but the city also offers
more than 100,000 jobs and is home to about
40,000 students at the California Institute of
Technology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena Cit}' College, and other institutions. In
addition, Pasadena has a thriving arts and culture scene and leafy residential neighborhoods.
Now Pasadena is implementing many of
the smart growth and new urbanist concepts
that other California cities have only contemplated. Housing is bootning in the central
district—-most of it in mixed-use developments. A transit-oriented development is ncaring completion literally on top ofthe MetroLink
rail line. Stores and restaurants are thriving.
And private investment is reaching the shabbier areas at the edge of the downtown.
It is no accident that the Congress for the
New Urbanism is holding its annual conference in Pasadena this month, or that the
League of California Cities chose Pasadena
for its annual planners institute this spring.
City officials constantly host planners, developers, elected officials, and real estate
professionals eager to mimic Pasadena's success.
"We get people coming here from all over
the world^—China, Australia," says planning
and development director Richard Bruckner,
who has led many tours during his six years
in town.
It also is no accident that Pasadena is getting this type of traditional downtown development. "Pasadena is a success story because
it's been at it for so long," says Nathan Cherry,
AICP, vice-president of RTKL Associates, which
recently helped the city with a major planning
update. "It has been chipping away at a smart
growth strategy for nearly 30 years now."
iL' ill* own t<Mir?ie
Selecting that strategy required city officials,
civic activists, and property owners to buck
the conventional thinking of the 1970s. At
that time, thecity was working on a corporate
headquarters plan that essentially would have
turned the centra! district into a suburban
office park.
But after nearly a decade of that approach,
local residents said they didn t want to become like every other suburb. They wanted
an authentic city that respected its historic
buildings and institutions.
So during the late 1970s and early 1980s,
the city changed course. There would be no
more urban renewal or even traditional, taxincrement-funded redevelopment. Instead,
Amc
Pasadena
has become
a model of
smart growth
for other
California
Old Ptuadena was
saved from the
wrecking ball by a
citizen revolt,
aggressive historic
preservation efforts,
and the type of
cimtrarum parking
system endorsed by
Donald Shoup of
UCLA. Above:
Paseo Pasadena.
Right: city hall
built in 1927, is
closed temporarily
for seismic
retrofitting.
Pasadena would make better use of its existing
assets and recreate its old downtown.
"I don t ciaim any prescience," says Mayor
Bogaard, who served on the city council in the
1980s and, after a hiatus, was elected mayor
in 2000, "but this community has been talking about the goal line for a very long time.
What has happened in the last five years is
exactly what we wanted to happen."
i'l.imiiiij; Ai
29
during the 1880s with the completion of the
Santa Fe Railroad. Over the next few decades,
Colorado Boulevard became Pasadena's main
street, and nearby neighborhoods filled with
Crafts mati-stylc houses.
In the 1920s, the ciry began executing a
City Beautiful plan prepared by architect Robert
Bennett. Just to the east ofthe historic core,
the city built a spectacular Beaux Arts city hall
and central library, and an Italian Renaissance-style civic auditorium. The city-owned
Rose Bowl stadium went up about one and
one-half miles north of downtown.
Progress came to a halt during the Depression. Not until after World War II did Pasadena begin to grow again. In 1947, Bullocks
opened afirst-classdepartment store, which
starred the development of a new shopping
district about 10 blocks east ofthe old downtown.! he South LakeAvenue District thrived
during the 1950s and 1960s as an upscale
shopping destination for suburbanites living
in the rapidly growing San Gabriel Valley.
At the same time, the historic core floundered. Buildings were underused or sat vacant. Few people went downtown after dark.
No one thought to brag about Old Pasadena
because the name didn't exist.
Pasadena's leaders responded to downtown's
demise the same way planners and elected
officials did in many cities across the country:
They planned to demolish it and start over.
"It was a joke then to think that anything
could happen here economically," Rood says
of Old Pasadena. "It was falling down. It was
tubbish. The city's plan was to tear it all
down, so property owners didn t put any
money into their properties."
In 1971, the cit>'adopted the Central District
Improvement Plan. It called for chc city's redevelopment agency to assemble downtown's small
lots, through eminent domain if necessary, aJid
to work with devekipers to erect large corporate
office buildings. The city did attract a number of
corporate offices during this period, including a
new headquarters for the Parsons Corporation,
the engineering and construction giant.
But Parsons and similar redevelopment efforts came at the expense of historic architecture. The Mediterranean, Craftsman, and Art
Deco commercial and residential buildings
that lined the streets were replaced by glasswalled office buildings whose primary entrances faced onto parking lots.
\ hit uriiiston
From innll lo overhaul
Settlers from the Midwest foimded Pasadena A crisis erupted in 1980 with the opening of
in a valley between the San Ciabriei and Verdugo Plaza Pasadena. The suburban-style, 600,000mountains in 1873. The town began to thrive square-foot shopping mall not only turned a
«f
30
PUiming ]unr2(K)9
blank wall to two blocks of C-olorado Boulevard, it sliced through Robert Bennett's grand
Garfield Avenue, cutting off the civic auditorium from cit)' hall and the library.
Plaza Pasadena was a redevelopment agency
projea. The city acquired the land, taking
some of it through eminent domain, relocated
more than a hundred businesses and households, and built a parking garage. In all, the city
invested S^8 million in the shopping mall.
"Plaza Pasadena polarized thiscommunit).'
recalls Jim Plotkin, a downtown property
owner and civic activist for more than .30
years. "The city tore down historic buildings.
At that point, people were starting to say,
'No, we need to save some of these things.'"
Responding to the criticism, the (..i[y abolished its redevelop me lit arm in 1981. Historic preservation fiiiftged as the next strategy, led in part by Pasadena Heritage, a private,
nonprofit group that ultimately became one
ofthe largest local historic preser\'ati()n organizations in the nation. Ac about the time that
retailers were preparing to open stores at Plaza
Pasadena, Pasadena Heritage and other groups
were writing a plan to revitalize downtown by
means of historic preservation, assistance to
small businesses, and public-private partnersblps. The city responded with new regulations aimed at protecting historic structures.
Historic preservation did not bring immediate economic success, however. In tht- early
1980s, Colorado Boulevard was still lined with
secondhand stores, pawnshops, vacant storefronts, and an assortment of light industrial
operations. So tlic city, civic organizations,
and property owners undertook a number of
projects, starting with historic designation.
Although many buildings were underused
and dilapidated, most of the historic core had
survived the city's urban renewal efforts (which
had swallowed nearby blocks). Scores of late
19th and early 20th century buildings remained in the core. In 1983. city officials got
eight blocks of Colorado Boulevard—the heart
of what was becoming known as Old Pasadena—listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city sold revenue bonds to
fund restoration of three historic buildings
and began a new. limited redevelopment effori that included construction of 1,500 parking spaces in two structures.
Newordinances reduced the amount of parking required for development and allowed developers and [cnants to contract with the cit>'
for space in city parking garages. Old Pasadena
business owners formed a business improvement district to fund promotional activities
and various strectscape improvements.
Pasadena then reached a crossroads.
In the late 1980s, a private developer
proposed leveling everything except
the street facades on one square block
in Old Pasadena to make room for an
inward-facing shopping niall. The developer was willing to make one of
the biggest investments in Old Pasadena since the urban renewal days
and had gained the interest of upscale
national retailers.
The city did not bite. A new developer, the Stitzel Company of San Francisco, took over the rciail project. In
the early 1990s, it completed One Colorado, a 27(),000-square-foot project
with one new building and 17 existing
structures that were rehabilitated and
reused. Five alleyways were refurbished
to provide pedestrian access and a public courtyard, as well as additional retail frontage.
One Colorado was a pioneering
project because itfitwithin the existing urban context. Rood says. The
'
city did not have to forego its new
wu
planning principles to get One
Colorado's eight-screen cinema, retailers such as Crate & Barrel and Banana
Republic, and a variety of restaurants. Nearly
IS years later, the project is thriving, mostly
with its original stores.
The slow transformation ofthe central district required vision, strategic planning, partnerships, and —most important—trust. Rood
says. "It's all people stuff," she says. "Doing it
together, ratbcr than being demanding, is iht
most important thing. You can either spend
the time together at the beginning, or you can
at the end ofthe process, when it's a lot harder."
••jectincorporates a Spanish
that does not require a car; and promotion of
the city as a regional center for business,
education, and tiucrtainmcni.
In [he last year, the city has updated the
land-use and circuladon portions ofthe general plan, revised the zoning code, and adopted
a specific plan for the central district. The
zoning code revisions are more favorable to
smart growth principles, such as adaptive reuse and live-work projects, says Cherry of
RTKL. "It's blurring the classic Euclidean
definitions of land uses and is anticipating the
more complex world of urban living," he says.
lioom times
rhe new specific plan both reflects and
Like mosrofCalifnrnia, Pasadena experienced .utempis to guide the growth of the central
a development boom during the late 1980s. district. No longer confined to an eight-block
Some of that development changed neighbor- stretch of Colorado Boulevard, the central dishoods and all of it added traffic to streets and trict now extends over about 1,000 acres conhighways. City voters in 1989 adopted nu- taining 21 million square feet of commercial
meric caps on commercial and residential space and 4,000 residential units. "It's not one
growth. Voters repealed the limits three ycats hot street," says Rood.
later, but a new general plan, completed In
The document deals block by block with
1994, reflected a new sensitivity to growth. how buildings should address the street, and
The general plan also called for the type of it ensures that the white-hot housing market
development that is occurring today in the does not overwhelm opportunities for office
central district.
and research-and-development space, says planThe plan's seven guiding principles are key ning director Bruckner. In a nod to slowto the city's success, says Mayor Bogaard. growth farces, the plan places caps on the
Among them are targeting growth in seven central district: 5,100 new housing units and
iiteas, especially the central district; preserva- six million square Feet of new commercial
tion of historic character; a circulation system space, with 1994 levels as the starting point.
American Planning Asuociation
Another place with new housing
is theformerPlaza Pasadena shopping
mall, which never succeeded economically. Mall owner TrizecHahn
sold the air rights to Post Properties
i n the 1990s and together the developers overhauled Plaza Pasadena.
TrizecHahn, which has since sold
the property, reworked the retail
spaces, adding storefronts on Colorado Boulevard and a l4-screencini^ma, while Post built 387 apartments in four stories on top ofthe
mall. In addition, TrizecHahn created a 70-foot-wide public plaza,
restoring the City Beautiful corridor down Garfield Avenue.
31
this year. Mayor Bogaard concedes that the
fee is high, but he makes no apologies.
Bruckner explains the problem: "How do we
meet the community s needs, and how do we
preserve the parks we do have that are getting so
much more usage?" He suggests that the city's
open space plan needs to be revamped.
The development conmninity is skeptical.
Al Moses, an attorney for development interests and a former planning commissioner,
complains that the $20,000-per-unit fee "just
dropped out ofthe sky on us." He and others
convinced the city to phase in the higher rate
over two years, but he believes the fee was
intended to slow development.
Another concern is the lack of affordable
housing. Market-rate housing in Pasadena is
expensive, even by California standards. New
two-bedroom condos start at more $500,000,
and even studio apartments rent for $1,500
per month. A city ordinance requires that 15
percent of new units be designated for low- to
moderate-income residents (families making
up to about $60,000), but nearly all developers opt to pay an in-!ieu fee rather than btiild
the price-res trie ted units.
Again, city officials concede there is a problem but say they arc working on it. The city
has acquired some sites, and it intends to
combine in-lieu fees with block grants and tax
increment financing to subsidize affordable
housing development, Bruckner says.
Of course, many of these issues—traffic
congestion, parking shortages, expensive housing, overused parks—may be viewed as signs
of success (or at least of popularity). Vibrant
urban areas are usually crowded and expensive. Pasadena remains an inspiring model for
many cities, says Judith Gorbett, executive
director of the independent Local Government Commission and author of the new
urbanist Ahwahnee Principles. The fact that
it is Pasadena—and not one of California's
liberal college towns such as Berkeley or Davis—
only adds to the model's credibility, she says.
The complaints are also a sign of how
deeply Pasadena residents care about their
town. "Pasadena Is a city that has a lot of
community participation," Moses says with a
chuckle. "I think it probably has more commissions and committees than any other city
of its size."
As the city's top planner, Bruckner knows
well the experience of six-hour public hearings. "The conversations are passionate and
long. It's exhausting, but in the end, the
product is better," he says.
Plaza Pasadena is now called Paseo
Piisadena. While the residential component is successful, with apartments
renting for rt.ughly $ 1,700 to $3,500
a month, a number of stores and
restaurants have already come and
gone. Still, few residents miss the
revival train station and includes retail, a restaurant. old shopping mall.
and 350 Imusing units.
Now the central district has other
growing pains. Traffic congestion
is a sensitive subject. Slow-growth
About half of the residential units have been advocates blame the downtown housing
built or are planned, with nearly ail of the boom for all the cars, while city officials say
action occurring in the last Five years. Most of much of the traffic is simply passing though.
the new housing in Pasadena has been built in Because area freeways are jammed and drivtbe central district since the new general plan ing from one freeway to another requires a
was adopted, according to Bruckner.
trip onto Pasadena's surface streets, the city
Many of the new housing units are in can do little except ensure that through
mixed-use buildings with retail shops and motorists stay out of residential neighborprofessional services on the ground floor. hoods, Bruckner says.
One of the most intriguing new developPiotkin adds that transit has not alleviated
ments is Del Mar Station, designed by ar- the problem. He points to a Gold Line stop
chitects Elizabeth Moule and Stephanos that is five congested blocks from Colorado
Polyzoides (who live and work in Pasa- Boulevard and another stop ihat is four blocks
dena). The project reuses a Spanish revival from the Pasadena City College campus.
train station as a restaurant and includes
Rood, a central district resident who is now
new retail spaces and 350 "stacked flats." a planning consultant, also questions the city's
The development straddles—in fact, some commitment to pedestrian mobility. "The
living units are on top of—MetroLink's pedestrian is not the focal point of a lot ofthe
Gold Line, a light rail line from downtown planning," she says, pointing to uninviting
Los Angeles to east Pasadena.
sidewalks near Gold Line stations. "The city
puts more money into traffic mitigation than
«• - n II V <• V it does into pedestrian amenities."
In print. Learn more about Old Town Pasadena's
parking fee system in The High Cost of Free TlicySc j:o( issiirsii
Parking, by Donald Shoup (APAPIanners Press, Parks have become another bone of contenMarch 2005). Chapter 16 was excerpted in the tion. Recognizing that the influx of residents
in the central district places a premium on
May 2005 issue o^Planning.
On the web. Learn about the Ahwahnee Prin- public open space, the city council raised the
ciples on the Local Govemment Commission park impact fee from $750 per housing unit
website, www.lgc.oi^. Pasadena's website is to $3,600 and then to $11,000. The fee is Paul Shigley is the editor of C/iliforriia Planning &
scheduled to jump to nearly $20,000 later Developmeni Report.
www.ci.pasadena.ca.us.