Councilman Seeks to Restore Cuts in Fire Unit, Planning Effort

Alleging that his east Pasadena district was shortchanged under recently departed City Manager Philip Hawkey, Councilman William Paparian said he is seeking to have some services restored.

Top among residents’ concerns, Paparian told a council subcommittee Monday, are increasing the number of firefighters at Station 32 from seven to 10 and completing a long-awaited specific plan for the area. The three-member subcommittee asked the fire chief to come up with a plan to restore the number of personnel to 10.

At a separate meeting of the full council, Paparian and residents of the Lower Hastings Ranch Homeowners Assn. asked why plans governing development in the district have not been completed, even though they were undertaken before now-finished development plans for other areas of Pasadena.

The council directed acting City Manager Cynthia Kurtz to report on the status of the east Pasadena plan and how progress can now be made by the council’s next meeting.

A city planner told the council that officials had been instructed by top officials to stop all work on the east Pasadena plan for one year after a settlement of a legal case involving a local zoning dispute. But city officials Monday said they were unsure why such a delay was needed.