Residents to Petition Downtown Project

Three residents have filed a Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition with the City of South Pasadena. 

The petition asks the following: 

• No new residential uses shall be approved or permitted in the City within that area bounded by Mound Avenue, Hope Street, Fair Oaks Avenue and Oxley Street. 
• No new underground parking structures shall be approved or permitted in the City within that area bounded by Mound Avenue, Hope Street, Fair Oaks Avenue and Oxley Street. 

Yet while this petition is intended to stop the proposed in downtown South Pas, Assistant City Manager Sergio Gonzalez says if it were to meet all requirements for a special election, it probably still wouldn't have an impact on the revitalization project. 

"The downtown project has already been approved and already fully entitled," said Gonzalez. "...Even if this were to get signatures, we don't think it would effect the downtown project. It would affect new projects ahead—not this one."

The Petition Process

City Clerk Sally Kilby says there are several steps to address before the petition is brought to City Council. This includes 2,250 signatures of registered South Pas voters—all of which must be verified within 180 days of the Sept. 1 petition file date. 

"Fifteen percent of the registered voters must sign the petition," said Kilby. "[If achieved], the City Council will have a few options, one of which is to call a special election to put this before the voters."

Why They're Mad

The petitioners say the proposed project will eliminate open spaces and add traffic in South Pas. If it's pushed through, they ask it be funded privately.

"The majority of the property owners in the parking district do not support this development. There is currently a lot of misinformation being circulated," the petition states. 

"During one of the CRA meetings, it was stated that there were owner-participation agreements in the Mission Oaks Business District, including Bank of America and East West Bank. There are no such agreements, and no such agreements are forthcoming."

To read the complete petition, click on the PDF to your right.