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AUTUMN 2004 |
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Central
District Specific Plan Boundaries
Central
District Trivia Answers
to Frequently Asked Questions Glossary Answers
to Central District Trivia
Noticias
en Breve
Central
District Specific Plan Boundaries
Central District Trivia
1. What percentage of Pasadena’s total jobs are in the Central District?
2. What percentage of Pasadena’s total retail sales revenue is generated in
the Central District?
3. What percentage of Pasadena residents live in the Central District?
Answers to Frequently Asked
Questions
Q. Do the Central District Specific Plan, Mobility Element, Land Use
Element and revised Zoning Code represent what the community wants?
A. Over the last five years, more than 125 community meetings have been attended
by hundreds of residents, business owners, community organizations and others.
As a result, the community has participated heavily in identifying issues, prioritizing values, refining
technical analysis and evaluating proposals and impacts.
Q. How do the documents protect neighborhoods?
A. They focus new development in downtown areas and around light rail stations, diverting traffic onto major thoroughfares and away from neighborhoods, reducing height limits
and density for new commercial development adjacent to residential areas, designating even more historic districts and streamlining
procedures for establishing future historic districts.
Q. Won’t traffic get better if we simply don’t allow any more new development?
A. No. Pasadena is in the middle of a major metropolitan area and we cannot control regional growth and associated traffic. Even if we stopped all new development, traffic would continue to increase. However, we can control how traffic flows through the city and protect neighborhoods. The General Plan and the Mobility Element call
for traffic improvements to create the most efficient ways for traffic to move
across town and direct traffic away from neighborhoods.
Q. Does the Central District Specific Plan limit growth?
A. It is consistent with limits approved by voters in the 1994 General Plan. These limits do not allow an increase in the total number of square feet that can be built in Old Pasadena, the Playhouse District, South Lake, the Civic Center and Arroyo Parkway.
Q. When will the pace of development in Pasadena slow down?
A. New development in Pasadena comes in cycles related to supply and demand. Economists advise the best approach to strong market demand is to “ride the
wave" by guiding development to best meet the needs of the community.
Q. The architecture of some of the new buildings downtown doesn’t appeal to me. How will the documents ensure that new development is attractive and in keeping with Pasadena’s distinctive character?
A. Previous regulations were rather confusing and out of date. Community concerns about building design have been incorporated into the new regulations, which include floor area ratios, design guidelines and setback and height limits. These
regulations will help maintain street character and ensure that new development next to historic buildings is complementary.
Q. Why is so much housing included in the Central District Specific Plan?
A. Pasadena is part of a booming economic region that does not have enough
housing to accommodate the increasing population. The Central District Specific Plan calls for one-quarter of the square footage in the district to be residential. This mix of commercial and residential development will be concentrated in downtown areas where people work, shop and play, resulting in less traffic in residential neighborhoods.
Q. Will any of the downtown housing be affordable?
A. Yes. The city’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requires 15% of new units to be affordable to low-income and moderate-income households. Developers have the option of paying the city a comparable fee that is deposited into a fund dedicated to affordable housing.
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