November 12, 2016 Neighborhood Meeting Summary

Agenda Items:
Preparation
Attendees
Meeting

Preparation

E-mail reminders

Attendees

6 members

Meeting

Agenda Items:

The meeting began about 11:25 am

  • Council District Community Meeting on November 17
    • Thursday November 17, 2016
      6:30 – 8:00 pm
      at Green Dot Corporation
      3465 E. Foothill Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107
      park in front (south side) of building
    • Topics:
      • Pasadena’s future and concerns – presented by Steve Mermell, the new City Manager
      • Future of the Electric Undergrounding Program – presented by Eric Klinkner of Pasadena Water & Power
    • This should be an opportunity to ask questions and comment to city leadership.
    • Raffle: They are taking donations of nonperishable food items for a Thanksgiving Food Drive in return for a raffle ticket in a drawing held at the end of the meeting for two Rose Parade tickets.
    • (The site of this meeting is the building which is actually adjacent to Halstead but was remodeled to face Foothill across the parking lot. The building housed in succession: Electro-Optical Systems (EOS), Xerox EOS, Loral, Lockheed-Martin-Loral (aka LoMorale), and then was vastly remodeled to be offices of the infamous IndyMac Bank). Now it is Green Dot Corporation.
  • Avon site in escrow with Home Depot for Research & Development
    • The Avon property is located on the south side of Foothill Blvd, immediately west of freeway bridge across Foothill.
    • Avon has had a facility there for many decades, at least since the 60s. In recent years it has only been a distribution facility.
    • In January of 2013, Avon announced that it would consolidate distribution at a facility in Georgia, close this facility, and sell the property.
    • Pasadena City officials subsequently made a deal with Avon to stay for another three years in return for sales tax reimbursements.
    • On November 4, City Council member Masuda sent out a note that the Avon property is in escrow to be purchased by Home Depot. Masuda said “the early concept for use for the site is Home Depot 1/3 and High Tech 2/3”. He also noted that “This is only preliminary information because Home Depot is still in their due diligence period of the escrow.”
    • Under the city’s new General Plan and Land Use Diagram, the property is not zoned for commercial retail usage.
      It has a newly created zoning designation called “R&D Flex Space”, which is described as “Characterized by a wide range of industrial uses such as light manufacturing, research and development, creative office and incubator industries, and limited ancillary commercial and office uses.”
    • The old zoning designation was industrial, with retail sales allowed only as an “accessory use”.
    • If they are planning to put a normal Home Depot retail store on a portion of the site, it would seem they will have to get the City Council to change the land use designation.
    • A comment on NextDoor.com noted that Home Depot’s web site advertises technology jobs with Home Depot at a number of centers they have for the purpose around the country. They do such things as determining what products to carry, web site development, and marketing. Perhaps this is what they are considering for the “High Tech 2/3” at the Avon location. Here is the link: careers.homedepot.com/career-areas/technology-careers/#coast
    • The Preservation Director for Pasadena Heritage says that a portion of the original Avon building is considered historic. Pasadena Heritage will be involved as more information becomes available.
  • City Landscape Beautification Program – Project Ideas Requested
    • The City’s Department of Public Works is starting a “Landscape Beautification Program”.
    • The program is for City Parks and other city owned landscape areas such as street medians. (Think Sierra Madre Blvd medians).
    • According to their announcement:
      • “This program formalizes the process by which requests for landscape improvements in city parks and other landscape properties are received and processed by the City. “
      • “Landscape beautification projects are aimed at improving the aesthetics of public parks, medians and other landscaped areas maintained by the Department of Public Works.”
      • “Typically these projects include irrigation modifications or installations, new plant material, and the use of mulch or decomposed granite.”
      • “If you have questions, please call Jason Vega at (626) 744-7358”
    • They are requesting project idea submissions by December 3.
    • A link to the submission form is at the bottom of this webpage:
      cityofpasadena.net/PublicWorks/Parks_Natural_Resources_Division/
      (Unfortunately, it is a current Microsoft Word file. City employees apparently assume everybody has the ready ability to use such Microsoft Office files).
  • PWP Laundry to Landscape Greywater Workshop Nov 19
    • Saturday November 19
      9 am to 11 am
      Villa-Parke Community Center
      363 E. Villa St., Pasadena
    • Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) is offering another FREE workshop to PWP customers to learn how to hook up laundry water output for watering outside.
    • Greywater system hookups are legal now, if you follow a bunch of rules.
    • PWP will give vouchers for system parts valued at $80 to workshop participants.
    • You can learn more and register for the workshop here
      (look for the November 19 link right below “How do I Get Started?” and ignore the October 22 stuff):
      cityofpasadena.net/waterandpower/greywater/
  • Local Crime Summary
    • For the last month, from crimemapping.com: (note that time is typically when reported, not when it happened)
      • Thurs Nov 3, 9:07 pm, Del Vina St & Avocado Ave, Drugs/Alcohol violations
      • There appears to be a significant increase in vehicle related break-ins and thefts in nearby neighborhoods such as Lower and Upper Hastings, near 24 Hour Fitness, the shopping area that includes LA Fitness and Ralphs
  • anything else attendees wish to discuss
    • solar group purchasing program
      • Getting solicitations for a group purchasing program for residential solar electricity installations in the upper San Gabriel Valley. It is called SolarUP San Gabriel Valley.
      • Idea is that by grouping a lot of homeowners into one purchase, they can get a better price. This outfit claims to do all the work of putting the group together, negotiating prices, and managing the installations. It is obviously closely aligned with another company that claims to do everything except the group part of the process.
      • This is not “community solar”, a concept where “community members” buy into a solar installation as an investment or belief statement.
      • Although they seem to be using Neighborhood Connections information as contacts, this program seems to be entirely commercial.
      • If you think you might be interested, here is their website: http://www.solarupsangabriel.com/
      • The website also has links to information about solar electricity that you may find interesting even if you’re only just curious about the topic.

Next meeting is December 10, 2016, 11:15 am, at Hastings Branch Library meeting room

Adjourned about 12:55 pm