The South Pasadena City Council is gearing up to lay the groundwork for the city’s future. A Special City Council Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 6:00 PM. The session will take place at the South Pasadena Public Library Community Room, located at 1115 El Centro Street.
The primary focus of the meeting is the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 City Council Priority-Setting Study Session. City leaders will review the progress of the 2025 goals and establish new shared priorities to guide staff work plans, organizational efforts, and the upcoming budget.
2025 Milestones
In 2025, the City Council focused on five core areas: Finance, Infrastructure, Housing, Governance, and Operational Efficiencies. A newly released third-quarter update highlights several major accomplishments:
• Financial Stability: The Finance Department is now fully staffed, and the FY 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) was completed and presented to the City Council on January 21, 2026.
• Parks and Recreation: Construction of the Grevelia and Berkshire pocket parks was completed, culminating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in December 2025. Additionally, the city identified a potential partner for the redevelopment of the Arroyo Seco Golf Course and received direction to proceed with an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA).
• City Services: The transition to a three-stream waste collection system in compliance with SB 1383 moved forward, with residential barrel deliveries for organics and recycling beginning in November 2025.
• Housing: City staff formally submitted the amended Housing Element to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in September 2025. Furthermore, the city approved an extension of an ENA with Related California for a proposed 100% senior affordable housing development at the city-owned Mound/El Centro property.
Community Survey Points the Way Forward
To help shape the FY 2026-2027 priorities, the city released a community survey in January 2026, which collected 226 responses.
When asked why they chose to live in South Pasadena, residents primarily cited the “Quality of Life” (146 responses) and the “Culture/Community Feel” (141 responses).
However, the survey also revealed clear mandates from the public regarding future spending. While public safety in the city earned a high average rating of 4.13 out of 5, citywide infrastructure lagged with a moderate score of 3.03.
• Maintaining Funding: Residents identified “Public Infrastructure (i.e., buildings, streets, sidewalks)” as the absolute top priority to maintain in the city’s budget, garnering 165 votes.
• Fixing the Streets: When asked to rank priorities for improving city-owned infrastructure, “Fix streets” took the number one spot.
• Adding to the Budget: For new budget additions, residents strongly favored “New Pedestrian Nature Trails” (95 votes), followed by planting “More Trees Near Sidewalks” (73 votes), and adding “More Bike Lanes” (71 votes).
How to Participate
The priority-setting exercise will feature a live survey for the City Council to rank proposed new priorities and identify areas of consensus. The public is encouraged to participate in the meeting. Attendees can join in person at the Library Community Room, tune in via Zoom (Meeting ID: 825 9999 2830), or submit written public comments to [email protected] by 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
