In the 1970s, historic resources in what is now Old Pasadena were in danger. A push for urban renewal and large-scale office development jeopardized older buildings and features that defined the area’s vintage qualities.

With public pressure pushing back, Old Pasadena eventually flourished into a hub that combines history and a vibrant, walkable city center.

Today, Pasadena Heritage, city leadership and community members are working to revitalize another part of town taking lessons from victories in Old Pasadena.

First, they need a plan.

The North Lake Specific Plan is one of several specific plans the city is working on updating to be in line with Pasadena’s 2015 General Plan, a planning blueprint that governs development in a given area. The city’s others specific plans cover Central District, East Colorado Boulevard, East Pasadena, Fair Oaks/Orange Grove, Lamanda Park, Lincoln Avenue, South Fair Oaks and West Gateway.

“What we want to make sure is included is including these historic neighborhoods, these historic assets to these plans to make sure that it’s not pushed to the side, and it’s not a footnote in what the design ends up looking like,” Pasadena Heritage Preservation Director Bridget Lawlor said.

In North Lake, the focus is on improving pedestrian safety, supporting development and minimizing vehicle intrusion. Each plan is meant to be reflective of the difference in each neighborhood.

North Lake covers an area between Maple Street and Elizabeth Street. Within it is Lake Avenue Church, the vacant Kaiser Permanente property now owned by the city, fast food drive-thru stores and business centers at intersections with Washington Boulevard and Orange Grove Boulevard.

Pasadena Heritage Board Member Steve Preston said Lake Avenue’s history includes being part of the Pacific Electric street car line, hence the more than 100-foot wide streets and large center medians. While they’re not as concentrated as on Colorado Boulevard, Preston said Lake Avenue has historic resources up and down the street.

He said the street’s width offers an opportunity to expand sidewalks and improve landscaping. Pasadena Heritage has backed the draft updated plan but Preston and Lawlor are hoping to see more specific plans for implementation before final adoption.

“I think people in these neighborhoods, they want to walk it, they want to bike it, they want to go to restaurants on it, they want to feel it’s the place they can do they’re neighborhood business activities, and so we’re trying to help the city design for that potential future,” Preston said. “And I think we’re going to get there.”

Last week, the Planning Commission held its sixth study session about the North Lake Specific Plan as the long road to adoption nears the final stretch. The latest meeting focused on the public realm portion of the plan.

The effort to update the specific plans began in 2018 with a series of open houses to introduce the program and gather initial feedback. A preliminary draft of the North Lake Specific Plan, originally adopted in 1997 and amended in 2007, was presented to the design commission in 2021 and the first study session with planning commission took place in May 2023.

Deputy Director for Planning and Community Development Jason Mikaelian said the next step is to bring the full plan back to the commission in September, where it is expected to recommend the plan for adoption to the City Council.

While the plan must go through the bureaucratic process, Mikaelian said the effort is not a top-down approach.

“These plans really are a grounds-up approach,” Mikaelian said. “They came from the General Plan, which involved a ton of public outreach … the plans really reflect what it is that the community wants to see in these areas and the changes they would want to see and the things they would want to see preserved.”

Through study sessions, community outreach and subcommittee recommendations, the plan lists the following community priorities for North Lake: sense of place, mixed use district, well-maintained corridor, traffic calming, managed congestion, accessible destination, sustainable district, green and creative landscaping, public art and community identity.

“North Lake will be a vibrant and visually cohesive corridor, weaving together several distinct pedestrian-oriented districts that complement and build upon the cultural and architectural history of the community and surrounding neighborhoods,” the vision statement from the proposed plan read.

Included in the draft plan are recommended goals from planning commission subcommittees. They include references to how Old Pasadena was revitalized and how specific elements, like diagonal sidewalks, can be implemented on North Lake.

“It’s much more robust and has a lot more components to it than the previous plans that were for North Lake,” Mikaelian said.

Several historic neighborhoods surround the North Lake plan area including Bungalow Heaven, Garfield Heights, Washington Square, Orange Heights and Historic Highlands.

Barbara Mitchell has lived in Orange Heights for the last six years. Last year she sat on a panel to brainstorm ideas for the North Lake Specific Plan. She said many of her neighbors have been waiting decades for improvements to North Lake to happen.

“I can’t speak for all of my neighbors, but most of us are very excited to see North Lake get updated,” Mitchell said in an email. “Traffic speeds down Lake and through our neighborhoods, and there aren’t good bike lanes. Most of us don’t even frequent the businesses of North Lake, as it is not welcoming, nor is there ample parking.”

Mitchell said her neighbors want to see more pedestrian-friendly shopping areas.

Cindy Schnuelle, chair of the Orange Heights Neighborhood Association, said the topic of improving North Lake has been ongoing for years.

Schnuelle said residents would like to see different types of businesses on Lake and have the parking and traffic issues addressed.

“It would be nice if there could be a seamless transition from South Lake to North Lake. Meaning tree canopies, storefronts, and again services that residents in the community can use and gather with their families,” Schnuelle said in an email. “People adjacent to the North Lake corridor have been constantly told that the demographics don’t hold up to larger investments and I think that is incorrect.”

The plan is for the City Council to consider adoption of the updated plan before the end of year, likely in November or December, according to Mikaelian.

Mayor Victor Gordo said he’d like to see a plan that encourages investment in the North Lake corridor by providing a mix of density for housing as well as neighborhood serving uses like restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops as a few examples.

To implement the vision of the plan, Gordo said the city will have to do its part by investing in infrastructure and perhaps offering storefront improvements grants to business owners or organizing a business association.

He said North Lake Avenue is different along different parts of the corridor between the freeway and northern boundary and that reality must be reflected in the updated plan.

“We should be careful to respect the look and feel of the surrounding neighborhoods and address the development along North Lake Avenue accordingly,” Gordo said. “This has to be really a thoughtful and surgical approach not just a run over of the avenue or the neighborhoods.”