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Board authorizes negotiations with developer for Lindavista site after heated public plea to keep park intact
Summary
Board voted to authorize exclusive negotiations with a preferred developer for the Lindavista property despite large public turnout urging preservation of the existing park and mature trees; trustees debated adding a firm requirement to keep the park in place before deciding to proceed with negotiated terms and community engagement commitments.
The Pasadena Unified Board authorized exclusive negotiations with a preferred developer for the Lindavista site after a lengthy presentation from district-contracted consultants and a sustained public outcry urging the district to preserve the park and protect mature trees.
David Felman, who identified himself as the lead for the developer-selection team, summarized the RFP process and the district's recommendation. He described the preferred proposal as a low-density plan of 32 single-family homes, a 99-year ground-lease structure and preliminary financial pro forma projecting long-term rent revenue to the district. Felman said the selected proponent committed to a community-engagement process in the Negotiation Agreement (NA) phase.
Residents turned out in force to oppose relocating Lindavista Park or removing its mature canopy. Carly Whitney, Kate Diork and multiple neighborhood-association representatives described the park as the neighborhood's daily gathering space and warned of traffic, emergency-evacuation and canopy-loss consequences if the park were moved or reduced.
Board members probed staff and the developer on next steps, timelines and whether a preservation condition could be written into the NA. Dr. VelE1zquez and staff explained that the NA authorizes a negotiation period during which community participation plans, title diligence and site refinement are completed; staff cautioned that adding a compulsory preservation condition at NA authorization could constrain negotiation flexibility.
Trustee Kenny and others pushed for binding language to protect the park footprint; trustees ultimately voted to authorize negotiations while also directing staff and the developer to craft a robust community engagement plan. The meeting record shows the motion to proceed passed on a voice vote after debate; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.
What the authorization does and does not do: The board's vote authorized the district to enter exclusive negotiations (the NA phase) with the recommended developer. It did not approve final site plans, demolition or any change in park ownership or location; those would require later approvals by the board and likely the city.
Next steps: Staff said the NA process will include community outreach and additional environmental, traffic and title diligence; the NA timeline was described as open-ended ("possibly up to a year") and dependent on community input and diligence results.
Attribution: Quotes in this account are drawn from the developer presentation and board discussion recorded in the meeting transcript.
