A school district in the San Gabriel Valley plans to develop its own workforce housing with an education-to-residential conversion of a shuttered school.
Members of the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education recently voted 6-1 to pursue plans to redevelop the Roosevelt Elementary building into 115 apartments, Pasadena Now reported.
A key to the plan for the property at 315 North Pasadena Avenue is getting a streamlined approval process under a recently passed state law that applies specifically to public schools. Based on a presentation to the board, Education Housing Partners, a unit of Thompson | Dorfman, is working with the district on the project.
AB 2295 streamlines the residential development process on a school district’s property if a majority of units are set aside as affordable for low or moderate-income households. The law allows for bypasses of certain local zoning and approval processes, including reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
The Pasadena Unified board plans to use AB 2295 and a companion law known as SB 35 to speed up the entitlement process in hopes of getting approval within six months.
A Superintendent’s Advisory Committee recommended using the two state laws instead of going through a regular entitlement process with the City of Pasadena, which would take about two years, or relying only on AB 2295, which would provide partial streamlining and take 12 to 15 months.
The push for a redevelopment of the district-owned property follows a survey of Pasadena Unified employees, who expressed a demand for affordable housing in the city. The survey also left the impression that subsidized housing could be helpful in attracting highly qualified teachers and staff to the district.
The survey indicated that 70 percent of Pasadena Unified employees spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, a level that district officials consider burdensome. It found that district employees pay $2,200 a month in rent, on average.
The plan the board approved calls for a range of one- to four-bedroom units.
Only district employees would be eligible for residential units at the redeveloped property.
Board President Kim Kenne cast the lone vote against the plan.
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