Pasadena City Council
The Pasadena City Council approved a sales tax-sharing agreement with Avon that will keep the Pasdena fulfillment center open for at least the next three years. The agreement calls for rebating a portion of the sales tax generated by the facility to Avon in return for a commitment to remain in Pasadena for the duration of the agreement and some upgrades to the property. The Pasadena Chamber expressed support for the agreement to maintain a major employer in our city and also to provide time for the city, business and development interests and community members to consider an appropriate use for the site should Avon relocate to another state.
The City Council adopted the Lincoln Avenue Specific Plan which calls for 500,000 additional square feet of commercial development and 91 additional residential units.
The City Council also approved a public arts master plan.
The City Council and city executive leadership held a strategic planning retreat to discuss priorities and actions for the city for the next few years. Broad topics discussed were:
- Improve and maintain infrastructure
- Improve financial stability
- Complete funding and construction of the Rose Bowl Renovation Project
- Improve the local economy
- Improve the quality of life and enhance public safety
To read the entire report, click here then find the agenda report on the Strategic Planning session.
Los Angeles County Supervisors
The supervisors considered:
- $2.3 million proposal would fund development of permanent housing for homeless families/Transitional Age Youth in the First and Second Districts of the County.
- Action would deny lease that would allow oil/gas drilling and processing on land in Whittier that was acquired using County Prop. A Funds.
- Board support for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, with goals of restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem and securing California water supplies.
- Proposal would waive all admission/parking fees to County regional park/botanical garden facilities for active/retired military personnel on Nov. 9-16.
- Report scheduled on the implementation status of the Department of Children and Family Services Strategic Plan and budgetary priorities.
- $1.9 million proposal would fund various tree planting projects throughout the County.
- $1.9 million proposal would fund purchase of two electric buses for use by the Antelope Valley Transit Authority.
- Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Gloria Molina request creation of a Sheriff’s Department Oversight Commission
U.S. Government
Congress and the President agreed to keep the federal government opened for the next three months and extend the nation's debt ceiling limit until February. Now it remains to be seen if the negotiating parties among the Democrats and Republicans in Congress can come to some agreement in the next few months that avoids a repeat of the shutdown and pushes the country close to default. And it remains to be seen if anything they agree on will be signed by President Obama.
Burbank Bob Hope Airport
Burbank Bob Hope Airport staff and consultants informed the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority today that the recommended size of the proposed 14-gate replacement passenger terminal now under discussion in the joint Airport-City of Burbank future of the Airport visioning process is 355,000 sq. feet. Earlier estimates had determined a general range of between 325,000 and 385,000 sq. feet.
Gold Line Construction
Anyone that lives, works or drives by the Foothill Extension corridor is well aware that the project is underway - construction is everywhere. The at-grade crossings are being completed at a fast pace (two more are scheduled to re-open in the next week), station platforms are now visible in Arcadia, Monrovia and Duarte (and will start soon in Irwindale and Azusa), and the freight track is on schedule to be fully realigned between the San Gabriel River in Irwindale and the Azusa/Glendora border at the end of the year.
The two dozen structures being built or modified for the project are also progressing well. As you can see from the photo on the left below, the new Santa Anita Ave Bridge abutments are nearing completion on both sides of the street; a third pier will be constructed soon in the center island and then girders will be installed. The new abutments are uniquely designed to fit within the community, matching the art-deco style that exists along the corridor in the city of Arcadia.
At the Operations Campus, crews are preparing to install six miles of track and overhead electrical wires needed within the 24-acre facility. Foundations for more than half of the 213 OCS poles have been poured.
Devil's Gate Dam cleanout
LA County Public Works released a comprehensive, draft environmental impact report today on the need to restore the flood protection capacity of Devil’s Gate Dam by removing as much as four million cubic yards of sediment from its reservoir. The 90-year-old dam provides flood protection to several downstream communities along the Arroyo Seco, including Pasadena, South Pasadena, Highland Park, Hermon, Montecito Heights, Mount Washington, and Cypress Park, as well as the 110 freeway and well-known public spaces like the Rose Bowl. The draft EIR covers a broad range of issues and presents six different alternatives for sediment removal behind the dam.
The public is encouraged to learn more about these alternatives and offer its feedback during any one of three community meetings in November. November 6, 6-8 p.m., at the Rose Bowl Stadium Visitors’ Locker Room - 1001 Rose Bowl Drive Pasadena, 91103 (Enter at Gate A, Park in Lot F); November 14, 6:30- 8:30 p.m., at Jackson Elementary School Auditorium - 593 West Woodbury Road Altadena, 91001; November 16, 2-4 p.m., Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge - 4469 Chevy Chase Drive La Cañada Flintridge, 91011.
The draft EIR is available for a 75‐day public review period, now through January 6, 2014, and can be viewed online at www.LASedimentManagement.com/DevilsGate. Check the website for a list of locations where hardcopies are available for public review during regular business hours.
Public comments may be submitted at the community meetings or by January 6, 2014, via email to: reservoircleanouts@dpw.lacounty.gov, mail to: County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, Attn: Water Resources Division – Reservoir Cleanouts, P.O. Box 1460 Alhambra, CA 91802‐9974, or by fax to: (626) 979‐5436. Include “Devil’s Gate Reservoir Sediment Removal and Management Project” in the subject line and the name of a contact person.