Oak Knoll Project Back Before Design Commission

A housing project that has sparked concerns by neighbors and calls for improvement from a local preservation group will undergo further review by the city Design Commission at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

On Dec. 22, Pasadena Heritage said the 17-unit, multi-family apartment project at 139 S. Oak Knoll Ave.,  along with two other projects by Onyx Architects, including another one on South Oak Knoll Avenue, are all “in need of improvement.”

“In our view, all three are unnecessarily complicated, even convoluted, and generally come across as a combination of boxy forms, fins, materials, and colors that make the exteriors busy and unrefined,” Pasadena Heritage said in a letter.

Pasadena Heritage called on the Design Commission to challenge the architects to return with simpler, cleaner designs that better reflect the immediate contexts of each project and the greater context of Pasadena. 

Residents living nearby also oppose the project.

“The developer has many more areas that he can develop,” said Maritza Torres. “Why this one, when it’s packed with apartments already?” 

Torres said she was disappointed that the city is “taking the side of developers,” rather than its inhabitants and taxpayers.

“Why is the city of Pasadena allowing this? Why is the city not taking care of its citizens? Moreover, we are in a gray zone. We don’t have much greenery or parking stations for the already saturated area we live in,” Torres said.

Torres said she has been encouraging her neighbors to oppose the project, which would be built on an 8,610 square-foot lot at the southwest corner of South Oak Knoll Avenue and Mira Monte Place, between East Green and Cordova streets. The site is rectangular-shaped and is currently developed with a surface parking lot surrounded by a perimeter concrete block wall that was built in 1959 and is marked for demolition.

“My understanding is there is not a need for more housing at this time as I see an abundance of for rent signs when I drive through Pasadena,” said Claire Hoffman, who also lives on Oak Knoll Avenue. “Right now, there is a need for parking for residents, the employees at the imaging center on the corner, and patrons of nearby shops and restaurants.”

Hoffman also opposes a project at 150 S. Oak Knoll Ave. because the projects would negatively impact the neighborhood.

Although the comments were contained in a December agenda packet where the design review was carried over, the comments have not been posted on the city’s website for Tuesday’s meeting.

Members of the community can watch the deliberations at the Design Commission’s meeting on Tuesday at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81584000273.