Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week our action is about increasing the supply of affordable housing in Pasadena.

Affordable housing activists in Pasadena have been working to get Pasadena to approve an overlay zoning change that would allow churches to build affordable housing on their property regardless of the zone that the church is in (residential, commercial, etc). The church would lease their land to an affordable housing developer who would arrange financing, oversee construction and manage the project. The church would therefore, not be able to limit who could rent the units, i.e. no discrimination against LGBTQ, etc. Making Housing and Community Happen (MHCH) already has a list of churches who are interested in building housing and at least one is already working with a developer.

A proposal was on the City Council Agenda, but Mayor Gordo took it off and made the issue a part of the Housing Element update. However the City’s Housing Task Force has said it does not have time to consider the issue before the Housing Element is submitted to the State, and items in the Housing Element are part of an eight-year plan, so this could greatly delay any development.

We are asking everyone to sign a letter to Mayor Gordo and other council members asking that this housing initiative be put back on the council agenda. John Kennedy, who is the council person for the All Saints area, has been supportive of this proposal. Please click on this link and sign the letter. Thank you.