Pasadena 710 Freeway Stub Stuck in Limbo

Three summers ago, 50 acres of bare land was returned to the City of Pasadena. Rarely can you stumble upon an empty plot of that magnitude in such a desirable spot in Southern California. But the land is still undeveloped and without a master plan.

The parcel once belonged to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), but after a failed, decades-long battle to extend a freeway, the government-entity relinquished the property’s control to the city. No one expected the “stub,” as the land is called, to be totally developed by now but people hoped for at least a master plan.

The area, meant to be an extension of the 710 that would ultimately connect Long Beach to Pasadena, was cleared in the 1970s, displacing thousands of people and destroying homes that were owned or rented by mostly low-income and minority residents, according to city officials. Once the land was returned, the city chose to consider its development potential through a “restorative justice framework.”

Whatever the framework, a lack of political will among elected officials appears to be stalling progress.

“We’re behind where we should be, without a question,” city council member Steve Madison said.

Geoffrey Baum, a former president of the West Pasadena Residents Association who has served as an elected trustee of Pasadena City College, said there appears to be “zero urgency,” and called it “a shame” that there has been little to no progress, leaving a “massive scar” in the heart of the city.

Pasadena-based real estate attorney Richard McDonald sees it as a case of politicians being prudent to a fault, getting nowhere because they’re unwilling to risk upsetting anyone.

The city council appointed an advisory group to assist in the planning efforts that have almost solely focused on social justice, Madison said.

But as Baum understands it, people weren’t forcibly removed from their homes–-they were compensated. To clear the area for the failed 710 freeway extension, the properties were obtained using a hardship acquisition process. That isn’t to say people had much of a choice. But it wasn’t a Chavez Ravine situation, Baum said, a reference to the predominantly low-income Mexican-American communities that were violently evicted in the late 1950s to build Dodgers Stadium through eminent domain.

Efforts to correct past, perceived injustices will only continue to delay the project, Baum said.

The ad hoc committee hasn’t done much better it seems. The four-member body has met less than a handful of times and lacks a leader and action, according to Madison, who along with two other council members and the mayor are on it.

“The bottleneck is the city council, and in particular, the mayor,” Madison said.

Mayor Victor Gordo, who holds a citywide elected position, did not respond to a request. Still, it’s on the council to lay out a clear vision. For Madison that could mean a transportation element, housing and a sacred place: a plaza or park of sorts.

Consultants have been brought on, and a $2.8 million contract has gone to architecture firm Perkins Eastman, which did not respond to a request for comment. Madison called some of the firm’s proposed plans provocative and thoughtful and others “dead on arrival.” One, he said, included a water feature, which he described as a moat between West Pasadena and the rest of the city.

Another consultant, David Grannis, who worked on the return of the land and was later hired by the city, said things could have gone a little faster, and that “the city council has to kind of get their arms around how they want to play this game,” which he believes it is now doing. He said a land-use concept plan is coming toward the end of the year — a campus plan of some sort is what he said Perkins is considering. The city council will have some decisions to make, then the legal process, likely securing entitlements and an environmental review, begins. And developers are interested, Grannis said.

McDonald, however, doesn’t think a request for proposal (RFP) has gone out. None of his clients have made a move, he said. Developers want an element of certainty, they want to know what they can build, McDonald said, but the city itself doesn’t even know.

When asked about an RFP, assistant city manager Brenda Harvey Williams only said the city has engaged consultants to advise on the master plan process, develop the master plan and document the history of the stub.

As for whether developers have approached the city, she said, “not yet as it is not the time for that,” in an emailed statement.
At the moment, the city isn’t hemorrhaging money sitting on the land, but it is losing out on revenues, job creation, transportation formation, housing and retail development.