Pasadena : Shelter Foes Give Up

Opponents of Union Station, Pasadena’s soup kitchen for the homeless and needy, have given up their court battle to prevent construction of a new facility at 412 S. Raymond Ave.

Martin Washton, attorney for the Old Pasadena Assn., said the group, made up of owners of businesses near the new site, has decided against taking the case to the California Supreme Court after adverse rulings in Pasadena Superior Court in 1986 and in the State Court of Appeal in April.

Bill Doulos, director of Union Station, said the end of litigation will permit release of $425,000 in government funds that have been allocated for construction and landscaping. Doulos said bids will soon be sought from prospective contractors and that construction is expected to begin this summer.

Union Station, which feeds about 150 people daily in a small building at Euclid Avenue and Walnut Street, has sought for several years to build a larger shelter. The new facility, in an industrial area, would feed up to 225 people a day and provide 60 beds as well as showers, laundry facilities and social services.

The Old Pasadena Assn. fought the proposal on the grounds that Pasadena violated zoning regulations in approving the new site, and in the belief that Union Station’s clients would be detrimental to the neighborhood.