What’s a cool $80 million among friends and neighbors?
Item 24 on the June 17 agenda calls for the Council to adopt Resolution No. 8016, declaring that the public interest and necessity demand the reconstruction, rehabilitation or replacement of the city’s streets, roadways and sidewalks, and to introduce Ordinance No. 2416 — the measure that would place a general obligation bond of up to $80,000,000 before South Pasadena voters at the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election.
This is not a study session. The resolution requires a two-thirds vote of the full Council, and the ordinance gets its first reading Wednesday. If both pass, the bond measure is on a direct path to the November ballot, where it would need voter approval before the city could issue any debt.
The timing is no accident. Two weeks ago, on June 3, the Council unanimously approved a protected two-way cycle track and two roundabouts for Fremont Avenue — a project the city’s consultant priced at roughly $23 million. The city’s pavement network has needed major reinvestment for years, and Wednesday’s consent calendar includes a $60,000 contract extension with Kimley-Horn & Associates for ongoing pavement management analysis. The bond, if approved, would be the funding engine behind that backlog.
Staff notes the bond vote itself commits the city to nothing under the California Environmental Quality Act — voter approval would authorize the borrowing, not any specific project.
It is a heavy night for money decisions overall. The Council will also hold a public hearing on the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Proposed Budget and Capital Improvement Plan, with adoption of Resolution No. 8014 on the table the same evening. A separate public hearing covers the annual Lighting and Landscaping Maintenance District assessments, and another takes up adoption of the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan.
And residents should note: the July 1 meeting is cancelled. Whatever the Council does not finish Wednesday waits until July 15.
Goat Grazing Contract Rescinded And Redone After Brown Act Challenge
The city’s goat grazing pilot program is back before the Council — The CEQA Sequence
On May 20, the Council approved an agreement with Capra Environmental Services to deploy targeted goat grazing for vegetation management in the Monterey Hills. The city has since received a cure-and-correct letter under the Ralph M. Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, asserting a problem with how the approval handled the California Environmental Quality Act.
Staff’s recommended fix, Item 19: rescind the May 20 approval entirely, then approve a new agreement with Capra — this time with explicit findings that the goat grazing program is exempt from CEQA. The staff recommendation cites multiple exemptions, including categorical exemptions for existing facilities and minor alterations to land, and statutory exemptions for actions necessary to prevent or mitigate a wildfire emergency and for projects that establish defensible space for wildfire risk reduction.
The program itself is unchanged: goats grazing down flammable vegetation in designated high and very high fire hazard severity zones in the Monterey Hills, with fire season already underway. The agenda does not identify who sent the cure-and-correct letter.
City Chases $10 Million For Arroyo Drive Trail And Cycle Track
The Council’s active transportation push continues. Item 15 would direct staff to apply for up to $10,000,000 from the state’s Active Transportation Program, Cycle 8, for the Arroyo Drive Nature Trail and Bicycle Cycle Track Improvement Project.
The application follows directly on the June 3 Fremont Avenue decision and signals the city intends to pursue outside money aggressively for its bicycle and pedestrian network rather than lean entirely on local funds — or the proposed bond.
Camp Med After School Program At A Crossroads
Families with children in the Camp Med After School Program should pay attention to Item 25. Staff will present an analysis of the school-year program, and the Council will give direction on whether to continue it as currently structured, modify the model, or discontinue the school-year After School Program entirely. No decision is predetermined, but all three options are formally on the table.
Block Parties Get A Rulebook
On the lighter side, Item 26 would adopt a formal Block Party Permit Program Policy — a city-administered process for closing residential streets for neighborhood gatherings. To launch it, staff recommends purchasing two city-owned barricade equipment sets at an estimated $8,000, with more sets possible in future budget cycles if demand grows.
Also On The Agenda
The consent calendar carries several items with real dollar figures attached. The largest: a five-year agreement with the Pasadena Humane Society for animal care and control services, July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031, at an amount not to exceed $1,125,924. The Police Department would also purchase a TruNarc Delta handheld narcotics analyzer from Thermo Fisher Scientific for $47,048.84, paid from asset forfeiture funds.
The Council will consider Resolution No. 8015, recommitting the city to the Los Angeles Urban County Community Development Block Grant program for Fiscal Years 2027-2029, and separately will take up Resolution No. 8013, approving the FY 2026-2027 CDBG funding allocation and reallocating available prior-year CDBG funds to sidewalk and ADA improvements.
In ceremonial business, the Council will present proclamations declaring June 2026 as Pride Month and June 19, 2026 as Juneteenth in the City of South Pasadena, and will hear a presentation from the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation.
How To Participate
The meeting begins Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at the Amedee O. “Dick” Richards Jr. Council Chambers, 1424 Mission Street.
Public comment is limited to three minutes, though the Mayor may adjust the limit as needed. Written comments must be emailed to [email protected] by 12:00 p.m. the day of the meeting; they become part of the official record and are posted to the city website, but are not read aloud. Include the agenda item number you are addressing.
Watch live at http://www.spectrumstream.com/streaming/south_pasadena/live.cfm, join via Zoom with Meeting ID 825 9999 2830 at https://zoom.us/join, or call +1-669-900-6833.
The full agenda packet is available at City Hall and at southpasadenaca.gov under City Council Agendas.
