Preservation specialists, residents urge South Pasadena panel to keep demolition review and reject larger minor-project threshold

At its April 17, 2025 meeting, the South Pasadena Cultural Heritage Commission heard public comments urging commissioners to retain a requirement that triggers historic‑resource evaluations before demolition and to reject a proposed expansion of the minor‑project review threshold from 200 to 500 square feet.

Debbie Howell, a preservation specialist and former CHC member, told commissioners she helped draft the city’s Cultural Heritage Ordinance and said two edits under consideration would “reverse important policies that were put in place for a good reason.” Howell said one proposed change would let the director, rather than a clear ordinance requirement, decide whether to require a historic‑resource evaluation before demolition. “Demolition is a discretionary action, and therefore, it’s a project under CEQA,” Howell said, adding that the proposed language would put the city “back to the old days when the director would decide if and when we would commission an evaluation.”

Howell said she raised those concerns at the City Council’s second reading of the updated ordinance and that councilors “agreed and voted unanimously to send this back to you for your reconsideration.” She urged the commission to retain the existing language that requires an evaluation for certain demolitions and major alterations, and to avoid a blanket numeric increase for minor projects. Instead of raising the minor‑project threshold to 500 square feet, Howell suggested using a proportional measure (for example, 25 percent of a home’s footprint) so that a 500‑square‑foot addition on a 2,500‑square‑foot house would be treated differently than the same addition on a 1,000‑square‑foot bungalow.

Resident Vance Sanders described a locally listed property he lives near at 325/327 Pasadena Avenue, saying the parcel is on the city’s historic resources map and that he was told it appears on the National Register. Sanders said the lot contains a century‑old oak and three cottages and asked whether the new owners could demolish and build a five‑story apartment building. Chair Lopez responded that demolition would require permits and earlier staff review steps and that the city would likely require a historical analysis and a public process before demolition could proceed. Commissioner Dean also noted that notice would be required and that the public could comment during that process.

No formal action on the ordinance changes was taken by the commission at the meeting; Howell said the City Council had remanded the draft edits back to the commission. Commissioners and staff discussed nuances — for example, whether accessory structures such as garages should be treated the same as primary structures — and how to build flexibility into code while preserving consistent demolition review.

Why it matters: South Pasadena is a Certified Local Government with the State Office of Historic Preservation; local rules about when evaluations are required affect how the city complies with the California Environmental Quality Act and how it protects historic resources. The city’s proposed edits would change administrative discretion and the threshold for projects handled by abbreviated (chair or staff) review. Public speakers at the meeting urged preserving the ordinance’s existing clarity for demolition review and using a proportional rather than flat numeric approach for minor‑project thresholds.

What’s next: Howell said the City Council voted at second reading to send the revisions back to the commission for reconsideration. Commissioners asked staff to continue work on the draft and to return with clarifications; no date for further commission review was set during the meeting.