Pasadena Adopts Strict Limits on Large Houses

Despite opposition from architects and realtors, City Directors on Tuesday adopted strict rules against “mansionization.”

Pasadena now joins the San Gabriel Valley cities of Arcadia, San Gabriel, San Marino and South Pasadena, where regulations were passed after residents in smaller homes complained of neighbors building huge mansions next to them.

Scott F. Gaudineer, president of the Pasadena Foothill Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, argued that the stricter rules would prevent many owners from building their “dream houses” of 3,000 square feet or larger.

Such homes are becoming typical, he said, a change from the average 800-to 1,000-square-foot home of 1947.

But City Director Rick Cole said such dream houses were “the house we all want to live in, but . . . none of us want to live next to.”

Limits on height and square footage and requirements for side setbacks on construction of new homes and expansion of existing homes in flat areas of the city are expected to go into effect in about two months. Hillside regulations are still being drawn up by city staff members.

The new rules come after months of work by city Planning Department staff members. Since April, a moratorium has blocked construction of multistory homes. The moratorium won’t be lifted until the rules are formally adopted as law.

Lower Hastings Ranch, an East Pasadena neighborhood of mostly single-story, ranch-style houses, was singled out for special protection. The board imposed stricter regulations on height and side setbacks there at the request of Cliff Benedict, president of the Lower Hastings Ranch Homeowners Assn.

The measures approved were essentially those devised by city staff, even though less stringent rules were recommended by the city Planning Commission, the Pasadena Board of Realtors and the architects’ group.

Realtor spokeswoman Nancy Greenberg said many people move into small homes with the hope of later enlarging them. The strict regulations would end that hope, she said.

But resident Sterl Phinney countered that even with strict rules, the square footage of all homes in Pasadena could be doubled.

“I sure wouldn’t want to argue that what we’ve done is perfect or even conclusive,” Cole said. “But it gets us closer to where we want to go.”

The new rules:

Impose a maximum house size equal to 30% of the lot’s square footage plus 500 square feet. The rule would apply to all lots smaller than 7,200 square feet. For larger lots, the current 35% maximum will remain.

Impose a height limit of 32 feet citywide and 26 feet in Lower Hastings Ranch.

Require second stories to be set back certain distances from side property lines. The distances are greater in Lower Hastings Ranch.