During its 25-year history, GPAHG has been a tireless advocate for affordable and homeless housing in the greater Pasadena area. It began in 1995 as an all-volunteer group under the care of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and is now part of a nonprofit called Making Housing and Community Happen, newly founded in 2018. With around 20 active members and hundreds of supporters, GPAHG takes a faith-rooted approach to organizing churches, partners and individuals concerned with housing justice: ending homelessness and ensuring decent and affordable housing for low and very low-income residents through just and enlightened policies. For the past 20 years, GPAHG has consistently met with City Council members, Planning Commissioners and developers, raising key questions about housing policies in the city.
Here are some of GPAHG’s the many successes over the years:
SUCCESSES
1990s - the Affordable Housing Action, GPAHG’s precursor, began to advocate for rent control in Pasadena, without success. (In 2017 this cause was taken up by the Pasadena Tenants Union and continues to be supported by GPAHG, with promising results).
2001 - GPAHG played a role in crafting and passing the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance which requires developers who build more than 10 units to set aside 15 % as affordable, pay a fee or build off site. As of March 2019, this policy has produced over 577 affordable units, with no cost to the city, and helped provide Pasadena’s affordable Housing Trust Fund with over $21 million. These funds have been leveraged to produce and preserve 690 more units. GPAHG also advocated for an increase in the in-lieu fee for developers who prefer to pay a fee rather than build inclusionary units on site.
2005-2006 - GPAHG advocated for this surplus land of the Desiderio Army Reserve Center under the famous Colorado Street bridge to be used for nine Habitat homes.
2007 - GPAHG exposed how Pasadena Manor had wrongfully evicted elderly residents, obtained front page headlines to highlight this issue, mobilized community support, and helped them secure legal representation so that the 157 of these residents were able to obtain relocation costs.
2008 - GPAHG successfully advocated for a Housing Department separate from the Planning Department. This has significantly increased the production of affordable housing in our city.
2010 -2019 - As a result of GPAHG’s input, a large apartment complex called Westgate set aside 20% of their proposed 800 units to be affordable for very low income residents, resulting in 97 units indistinguishable from the luxury units near Old Pasadena jobs and the metro line—keeping cars off the road. GPAHG has met with other residential developers, challenging them to include the 15% of affordable housing units at the lower income levels. In 2018 when a 550-unit apartment complex was proposed in east Pasadena, GPAHG won the unanimous approval of the City Council for that developer to include the 15% affordable. GPAHG’s Inclusionary subcommittee diligently worked on a proposal to update the city’s policy to increase it’s production. See his link for the proposal: https://makinghousinghappen.net/2019/03/22/inclusionary-housing-proposal-from-the-greater-pasadena-affordable-housing-group/
2012 - GPAHG wrote a 21-page detailed analysis of Pasadena’s 2014-2012 Housing Element Draft which ultimately lead GPAHG to contact HCD (the state housing dept) resulting in the draft not being accepted without the city including more deadlines and accountably. Those deadlines now give GPAHG the leverage needed to hold the city accountable to meet them. GPAHG’s efforts helped the City to win several awards, declaring this Housing Element as the best in the state as a model for all other California cities.
2014 - GPAHG was alerted to Fuller Seminary’s sale of 197 student housing units to Carmel Partners, a luxury builder, and by so doing breaking their 2006 agreement with the city to keep these units affordable. For the past few years, GPAHG has tried to convince Fuller to leave a legacy of affordable housing when it leaves the city, particularly at Chang Common.
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2016 - GPAHG stopped a proposed anti-camping ordinance which would have criminalized homelessness in Old Pasadena and other business districts. GPAHG succeeded in advocating for the Planning Commission to focus on affordable housing twice a year with an eye toward the implementation of the Housing Element. Additionally, two workshops a year will now be held by the Housing Department. Topics have included: ADUs and the Pros and Cons of a Housing Commission.
2017 - GPAHG won a stronger Tenant Protection Ordinance, cleaning up a loop hole that allowed landlords not to pay relocation fees if they put their tenants on month-to-month rental.
2018 - GPAHG succeeded in lowering the property size requirement for Accessory Dwelling Units (Granny Flats) from 15,000 s.f. to 7,200 s.f and succeeded in lowering the impact fees for an ADU from $20,000 to $957 if the homeowner agrees to: 1) an affordable housing covenant 2) to rent to Section 8 tenant 3) or to a family member. As a result, 40 granny flats were built in the first year, and 13 of them for lower income tenants. (Only one granny flat was built in the previous 15 years because of the City’s restrictive ordinance.)
2018 - GPAHG worked with the City Council to approve using city-owned property at Heritage Square for 69 units of housing for homeless seniors. Because of GPAHGs support along with other concerned citizen, the Council also approved an ordinance that will facilitate the conversion of motels to homeless housing. In addition, the Mayor recommended that a vacant city-owned YWCA be used for homeless housing. GPAHG’s Homeless Housing Subcommittee is advocating building enough permanent supportive housing (PSH) to reduce our homeless count by at least 50% in the next five years. PHS is what ends homelessness by providing stable homes and supportive services for those who have been homeless.
2019 - Homeless housing: We successfully advocated for 134 units of permanent supportive housing (which ends chronic homelessness) at the Heritage Square South and the Salvation Army sites. We conduced vigils in front of the city-owned YWCA advocating for the approval of 94 more affordable housing units, half for homeless neighbors, half for low-income families, and the City Council is now calling for affordable housing at the Civic Center.
2019 - Housing Preservation: On Martin Luther King day, 2019, we planned a prayer vigil to preserve 169 affordable units in Chang Commons on the Fuller Seminary campus with over 100 in attendance. This event and the team that emerged from it helped to preserve these units and keep Fuller Seminary in Pasadena.
2019 - Church Land: We started a new subcommittee to help churches interested in building affordable housing on their land to go down that path with expert consultation. This team is now working with ten churches in Pasadena and southern CA cities.
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Advocated for affordable work force housing on a closed PUSD campus, which was approved by the School Board in April 2024.
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In February 2024 we presented to Pasadena's Northwest Commission N. Fair Oaks Vision Plan, which they fully embraced and sent a letter of support to the City Council. This Plan will revitalize a once a thriving Black business district divested due to unjust policies. This Plan will slow traffic, make the street safer, create more affordable housing and "beautify but not gentrify" N. Fair Oaks from Washington Blvd to the border of our city. This Plan has the support many residents and businesses.
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Successfully advocated for safe parking to be a permitted use at 69 church sites in Pasadena. As of April 2023, 8 parkers at Trinity Lutheran Church have been permanently housed. The Housing Department has also secured a $1.3 grant to create an additional safe parking program at All Saints Episcopal Church for 25 safe parkers.
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Successfully advocated for SB 4, the bill that rezones religious land statewide and makes it easier for congregations to have affordable housing on their underutilized land. MHCH initiated this bill and was part of a coalition of 300 organizations that supported this bill, which was signed into law by Governor Newson in 2023.
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Participated in crafting Pasadena’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance in 2001 which has produced over 1,000 affordable units and put over $26 million into the city’s affordable housing trust fund. In 2019 we were able to increase the set aside of affordable units from 15% to 20% and ended all trade-downs.
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Successfully advocated for 234 units of affordable and permanent supportive housing since 2018. These include the Salvation Army Hope Center (65 units), Heritage Square South (69) and Ramona St project (99 units) next to City Hall.
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Worked closely with our partners to see a 54% decrease in Homelessness since 2011 when the count was over 1,000.
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Successfully advocated having a Pasadena Housing Department.
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Helped make ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) easier to build throughout the city with years of advocacy and research on the local and state level.
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Helped to improve and strengthen Pasadena’s “Housing Element”— a required document for all California cities to demonstrate a plan for providing sufficient housing in a city for all income levels.
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Strengthened Pasadena’s Tenant Protection Ordinance, which prior to our advocacy was more of an ordinance to protect landlords.
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Successfully advocated for nine Habitat Homes under the Colorado Street Bridge, which was formerly an army base.
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One-Day Institutes: To date, we have done eight One-Day Institutes with anywhere from 20-120 passionate folks participating: two in Broomfield, CO; two in Denver, CO; for the Colorado Habitat staff, one in Pasadena, CA; one in Temple City, CA; and one in Monrovia, CA
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Our first One-Year Housing Justice Institute began on Jan 2, 2019.
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The North Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative (stretched between Howard and Woodbury) surveyed 150 of its residents, church members, and businesses to address the dreams and concerns for this disenfranchised corner of Pasadena. We mobilized the community to close down the street for the NW Jobfest, which brought 500 out to celebrate the community, apply to jobs, provide additional resources, and imagine a new future together. Our focus groups partnered with the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition and were able to identify15 items to slow traffic and beautify the street. Local leaders were trained on how to approach the city to ask for what they want. Seven of the 15 items are in the process of being accomplished, including a $268 traffic signal!
