In 1983, South Pasadena residents decided to preserve the city’s small-town look and feel by adopting, by a vote of 2531-2262, a requirement that no commercial, office, manufacturing or residential building would exceed a height of 45 feet.
That initiative, dating back four decades, seemed right in line with one of South Pasadena’s core values, the one about “community participation.”
But in 2022, the city settled a Housing Element lawsuit requiring So. Pasadena to seek, through voter approval, the repeal of the 45-foot height limit. And that can only be accomplished by the city’s voters.
Therefore, residents are now faced with Measure SP, which repeals the existing building height limit for the city’s business district and shifts decisions about commercial building heights to the City Council.
Permanently.
Approval of Measure SP, of course, would be excellent news for commercial property developers who would only have to convince five elected officials rather than a majority of So. Pasadena voters that bigger buildings are better.
But there is another option for voters. Just say “no thanks” to giving up their right to vote on building heights.
In an article by Steven Lawrence in today’s South Pasadenan, what happens if Measure SP fails is explored in detail. And you know what? The bottom line is voting “No” sends the measure back for revision, allowing residents to retain their voting power while demanding clearer height restrictions to protect the city’s character.
Voting to give up an existing right to vote on anything should be a very big deal. It’s not clear that the citizens of So. Pasadena have clearly understood that…until now.
