Specific Plans

A specific plan is a document designed to implement the goals and policies of the General Plan. Existing specific plans have been prepared for the eight areas identified below.

The City is pleased to announce the launch of Our Pasadena – Putting the Plan in Motion. This highly anticipated program is a major step toward implementation of the City’s recently updated General Plan that was adopted in 2015.

Our Pasadena will focus on implementation—updating Pasadena’s Zoning Code and establishing neighborhood-specific design and land-use goals for the City’s eight Specific Plans. For more information, visit our website at www.ourpasadena.org.

Central District

The Central District is especially unique – it is Pasadena’s urban core. This Specific Plan will include a diverse mix of land uses designed to create the primary business, financial, retailing, and government center of the City.

East Colorado Boulevard

The East Colorado Specific Plan (ECSP) area, which includes Colorado Boulevard between Wilson and Roosevelt Avenues, as well as adjacent sections of Green Street and Allen Avenue, benefits from its proximity to Pasadena City College (PCC), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and the Metro L (Gold) Line, creating opportunities for active neighborhood spaces, pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, transit-oriented development, and economic growth. An update to the ECSP was adopted by the City Council in February 2022.

East Pasadena

East Pasadena is a major regional retail area and provides jobs, goods, and services to the City. The East Pasadena Specific Plan focuses on facilitating the expansion of existing businesses and development of new businesses to provide additional employment opportunities for Pasadena residents, as well as the addition of new housing opportunities to enable residents to live close to jobs and transit.

Fair Oaks/Orange Grove

The Fair Oaks/Orange Grove Specific Plan is designed to enhance the quality of life for the Fair Oaks/Orange Grove community, reestablishing it as a lively focal point in the City. Through planning and urban design concepts, the Plan provides for the creation of a pedestrian- and transit-oriented community supporting businesses and residential uses in the area.

Lamanda Park

The Lamanda Park Specific Plan area is a new Specific Plan created from portions of the East Colorado Specific Plan and East Pasadena Specific Plan, which provides neighborhood-specific design and land use regulations for an approximately 189-acre area in eastern Pasadena.

Lincoln Avenue

Lincoln Avenue is an important mixed-use corridor in Pasadena, with a backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains to the north. The Lincoln Avenue Specific Plan (LASP) area generally consists of properties fronting the 1.1-mile section of Lincoln Avenue between Hammond Street on the south and northern City boundary, just north of Montana Street. John Muir High School, while located outside of the LASP area, functions as a visual anchor and focal point within the corridor, and influences surrounding environment. An update to the LASP was adopted by the City Council in November 2021.

North Lake

The North Lake Specific Plan is one of the City’s very first specific plan with the intent to provide a safe pedestrian environment, support development near the Gold Line station, and minimize vehicle intrusions and its associated uses such as vehicles sales and drive-through businesses.

South Fair Oaks

The vision for the South Fair Oaks Specific Plan is to facilitate a creative, innovative, and health-oriented mixed-use district that provides multi-family housing, neighborhood-serving amenities, medical services, and educational and employment opportunities accessible to transit for residents, employees, students, and faculty. The SFOSP area encompasses parcels between Del Mar Boulevard to the north, State Street to the south (bordering the City of South Pasadena), Pasadena Avenue to the west, and Picher Alley to the east. The updated plan was adopted on July 11, 2022.

West Gateway

The West Gateway Specific Plan will focus on the arts, culture and education by building on the strengths of the Norton Simon Museum and Ambassador Auditorium and this focus will be encouraged and strengthened through the Specific Plan.