City Council Appoints Members of 710 Community Advisory Working Group

The City Council appointed nine residents to the 710 Community Advisory Working Group, which will provide guidance and advisory to the City Council with respect to the redevelopment of a nearly 50-acre swath of land known as the 710 stub.

Appointed were Cynthia Kurtz and Wayne Brandt, nominated by Mayor Victor Gordo; Nevil Green, nominated by Vice Mayor Felicia Williams; Tina Williams, nominated by Councilmember Tyron Hampton; Danny Parker, nominated by Councilmember Justin Jones; Bryan Takeda, nominated by Councilmember Gene Masuda; Blair Miller, nominated by Councilmember Jess Rivas; Ali Barar, nominated by Councilmember Steve Madison, and Randy Shulman, nominated by Councilmember Jason Lyon.

The Council agreed to extend the application period until Wednesday, March 1 at 5 p.m. to give the public more time to submit an application and the Councilmembers more time to review them.

The Council will appoint the final remaining member positions of the working group at their meeting next Monday. At the upcoming meeting, the Councilmembers will also consider the possibility of expanding the group.

In total, the working group will comprise 13 members. Each Councilmember would get one appointee to the community group.

The Mayor would have two appointees to the community group and the City Council as a body will appoint four at large members.

Of the total 13, at least two shall be descendants of community members that were displaced due to freeway expansion.

According to a staff report, based on the applications received to date three candidates would satisfy this requirement: Edgar Riddle, Barbara King and Michelle Bailey.

For over 50 years, the state planned a freeway through the heart of Pasadena, extending the 710 to connect the 110, 134, and 210 freeways.

In 1964, the State of California took possession of a half-mile swath of land, displacing an established portion of the City made up of homes, businesses and institutional uses.

After over 20 years of opposition, the State abandoned the highway expansion effort and relinquished the land to the City in August of 2022.

According to a City staff document, the 710 Community Advisory Working Group “will provide input to the City Council on the vision, land use, massing, circulation, and other urban design aspects of the plan, as well as other key policy issues, including potential restorative justice efforts relating to the displacement caused by the proposed freeway expansion.”