Pasadena council approves All Saints safe‑parking program over neighborhood opposition

The Pasadena City Council voted to approve a minor conditional use permit allowing a 25‑space safe parking program at All Saints Church, 202 North Euclid Avenue, after an extended public hearing that drew dozens of supporters and opponents.

City staff recommended the permit, saying the overnight program — limited to 7:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and capped at 25 participant vehicles — qualifies for categorical CEQA exemptions (Class 1, 3 and 11). Baylen, the city’s zoning administrator, summarized the proposal and staff’s legal analysis, telling the council the program would operate on contiguous church parcels and would not materially impair the historic resources in the Pasadena Civic Center historic district.

Erica Tambling, the applicant and a parishioner at All Saints who chairs the Safe Haven Bridge to Housing program, said the site would be run by the operator Showers of Hope and reviewed before participants are admitted. “Participants must have a license, registration and insurance for their vehicles, register in advance and display a parking pass,” Tambling said in her presentation. Mel Dela Caratna, the proposed operator, described operational rules including no idling, a staffed security guard on site during program hours and a dedicated portable restroom for participants. “We have been doing this since 2019,” Dela Caratna said, stressing the program serves people who are working but otherwise lack stable housing.

Opponents, including residents of the nearby Maryland apartment building and counsel for the Maryland HOA, focused on three themes: they argued the parking lot parcel is primarily used for commercial parking and not a religious facility (which affects zoning interpretation), they said the change of use from parking to overnight sleeping is not “negligible” for CEQA, and they flagged public‑safety concerns based on police calls for service for the civic‑center area. Appellants’ counsel warned the council that the November 17, 2025 proceedings had produced a deemed denial and said reopening the matter could be subject to litigation.

Lieutenant Bundy of the Pasadena Police Department ran through calls for service for the area. For the date range staff presented (01/01/2023–02/22/2026) he reported roughly 192 calls tied to the All Saints address and characterized many calls as false alarms or officer‑initiated responses; a minority resulted in reports or arrests. Council members pressed staff about how many calls occurred during the program’s proposed nighttime hours and how to interpret police data tied to multiuse addresses in a busy civic corridor.

Council members who supported approval stressed that the city’s existing safe‑parking ordinance contemplates religious facilities as eligible sites and pointed to evidence from other local safe‑parking programs showing participants are a population that tends to be older, more likely to be employed and less likely to present substance‑abuse problems than other segments of the unsheltered population. Council member Lyon, who led the legal analysis on findings, said he found sufficient evidence in the record to make the six findings required for a minor conditional use permit and to find the CEQA exemptions appropriate.

Because of neighborhood concerns, the council added or clarified conditions before approving the permit. Key conditions include a monthly community meeting that the operator and All Saints must host with housing‑department staff, police, the council district representative and neighborhood/business stakeholders (the Maryland HOA and nearby hotel were explicitly listed); a posted, publicly visible phone number and website contact that is staffed during program hours with a log of complaints and outcomes; a portable restroom in the parking lot for safe‑parking participants and a separate restroom arrangement for the church’s existing Safe Haven program; and a check‑in/review step for staff or the zoning administrator to reassess conditions within months if issues arise.

Housing‑department staff told the council the city has authorized a contract for program operations but that the state’s PHLA rules disallow using that specific grant money for private security. The city said it is working to identify alternate funding sources to cover security costs.

The council approved the permit after amending conditions; the clerk announced the motion passed and reported the final tally as five votes in favor, two opposed and one abstention. The approval allows the operator and All Saints to implement the safe‑parking operation subject to the adopted conditions and follow‑up reporting.

Next steps: City staff and the applicant will finalize the site plan and the posted contact information; the operator must comply with the permit conditions before full operation begins. The zoning administrator retains authority to require a public hearing to revisit the permit if repeated problems are documented.