AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND USE, OPEN SPACE AND HOUSING ELEMENTS OF THE GENERAL PLAN, THE DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN, ZONING CODE AND ZONING MAP TO REVISE HEIGHT LIMITS,
Summary
SCH Number
2025090189
Public Agency
City of South Pasadena
Document Title
AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND USE, OPEN SPACE AND HOUSING ELEMENTS OF THE GENERAL PLAN, THE DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN, ZONING CODE AND ZONING MAP TO REVISE HEIGHT LIMITS,
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
9/5/2025
Document Description
RESOLUTIONS 7930, 7931 and 7932 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO THE GENERAL PLAN LAND USE, OPEN SPACE AND HOUSING ELEMENTS; AND THE DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN, AND ORDINANCE 2403 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO THE ZONING CODE AND ZONING MAP TO IMPLEMENT THE CITY’S 2021-2029 (6TH CYCLE) HOUSING ELEMENT.
General Plan – Align maximum heights of 45’, 50', 55’ or 70’ and minimum density requirements as proposed in the Downtown Specific Plan (DTSP) Resolution and Zoning Ordinance; reflect proposed changes in the Land Use map Housing Element - Revise Tables VI-51 (now referred to as VI-53) and Table VI-52 (now referred to as VI-44) to remove calculation errors and remove sites that are unnecessary and to generally demonstrate RHNA compliance along with related information updates and consistency edits. (Note that the Housing Element amendments would only take effect once the Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) finds the amended Housing Element in compliance with State Housing Element Law).
Downtown Specific Plan (DTSP) - In Fair Oaks Corridor Zone, allow a density of 90 du/acre (reduced from 110 du/acre) and a maximum height of 70 feet; amend the portion of the Mixed Use Core Zone on Mission Street west of Orange Grove Avenue to allow a density of 50 du/acre (instead of 70 du/acre) with a maximum height of 50 feet; allow a maximum height of 55 feet for remaining properties in the Mixed Use Core Zone with a density of 70 du/acre; revise applicable development standards and update the DTSP map and other associated figures accordingly.
Zoning Code and Zoning Map - amendments including, but not limited to: 1) increase the maximum allowable building height from 45 feet to 55 feet and revise other development standards in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and Housing Opportunity Overlay (HOO) Zone; 2) modify the boundary of the HOO Zone by removing the majority of RM-zoned properties (while maintaining all of the RH-zoned properties) in the Ostrich Farm area and maintaining most of the RM-zoned properties (while maintaining all of the RH-zoned properties) along Huntington Drive; 3) establish a CF-50 Zoning District to allow higher intensity multifamily housing on certain religious congregation or private school sites that are larger than two acres; and 4) revising the Zoning Map accordingly to show all of the affected areas.
Contact Information
Name
Dean Flores
Agency Name
City of South Pasadena
Job Title
Acting Planning Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Location
Cities
South Pasadena
Counties
Los Angeles
Regions
Citywide
Zip
91030
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Public Resources Code Section §21080.085
Reasons for Exemption
Amendments implement a schedule of actions contained in the approved Housing Element pursuant to Section 65583 of the Government Code.
In addition, on a separate and independent basis, the Housing Element was analyzed in the Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared for the Housing Element, and adopted by the City on May 30, 2023, and the changes are within the scope of that analysis. Further, the policies and implementation documents that were adopted and now amended were analyzed in the Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for the General Plan and Downtown Specific Plan Update and 2021-2029 Housing Element Implementation Programs, which was certified by the City on September 27, 2023. Section 15164 of the State CEQA Guidelines states that an Addendum to an earlier Mitigated Negative Declaration or EIR shall be prepared if some changes or additions are necessary to the previously adopted document, but none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for preparation of a subsequent Mitigated Negative Declaration or EIR have occurred. Based on the analysis and information contained in the Addendum to the PEIR, prepared by the City, there is no evidence that the proposed project requires major changes to the PEIR.
PLEASE NOTE: This Notice of Exemption is intended to supersede the Notice of Exemption posted with the County on August 27, 2025, and filed with the State on August 28, 2025.
County Clerk
Los Angeles
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. For more information, please visit LCI’s Accessibility Site.