Altadena residents unify to pass legislation protecting their community from dense developments

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Set us as preferred In mid-June, it became apparent that Altadena was having a moment unlike any other in the 18 months since the Eaton fire burned much of the community to the ground.More than 450 people flooded a June 16 Town Council meeting, focused on what some say is a fight to preserve the neighborhood’s identity.In a community where residents are preoccupied with their own difficult recovery journeys, the unity was noteworthy.

“This is the first time pre- or post-fire that we have been able to unite and find enough common ground to stand together,” said Shawna Dawson Beer, leader of Beautiful Altadena, a community advocacy group formed a little more than a decade ago.Over the last several weeks, residents have rallied behind Senate Bill 1090, which would pause multi-unit building projects in the L.A.County neighborhood.

Following the devastating January 2025 firestorms, plans have been submitted or work has begun on at least 13 single-family lots that would create subdivisions for multi-family housing, according to Altadena Recovery Watch, a local group of fire survivors.The bill creates a carve-out from laws that expedite transitioning single-family lots into multi-family housing in California to help alleviate the state’s housing crisis.“We heard over and over again from community members, those who lost their homes or who were affected in some way by the fire, to make sure that the community stayed the community that was there before the fires,” said state Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) in an interview with The Times.Harabedian and state Sen.Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Alhambra) co-authored the bill, also known as the Keep Altadena Land in Altadena Hands Act, which grants an exception to SB 9 and SB 1123, which created pathways to develop on single-family lots.“The people of Altadena are deman...