The Pasadena City Council Monday, Feb. 24, directed the city attorney to prepare a temporary ordinance that aims to simplify the rebuilding process for structures destroyed in the Eaton fire.

The fire destroyed 185 structures in Pasadena, according to the city. The majority of those were single- family dwelling and accessory structures in four neighborhoods in the city.

All of the destroyed structures were either in council district 1, on the west side of the city, or 4, on the east side.

The council approved directing the city attorney to prepare an interim, uncodified ordinance that would suspend or modify development standards to simplify the rebuilding process. The ordinance would be in effect for 45 days, with staff planning to return to the council to extend it for an additional 22 months.

“This is evolving and so we think there’s going to be additional orders and we may need to respond to those so I think that over the course of the next few months we’ll probably be coming back with a few different updates we just wanted to get something started and on the books so that we can start to work with the residents,” Director of Planning and Community Development Jennifer Paige said.

It would include requirements from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive orders related to rebuilding, including suspending CEQA requirements for projects provided they are rebuilt in the same location and the project does not exceed the previous footprint or height by more than 10%.

In addition, the city added on to the executive order by allowing a project at a different location on a site if setback requirements are met or match an existing setback. The city also would allow a project to exceed the previous footprint or overall gross floor area by 10%, whichever is greater.

“These options will provide greater flexibility on the site for locating the new home and allowing gross floor area as a base for the square footage calculation potentially provides a greater increase in size,” the staff report read.

Councilmember Rick Cole suggested that the 10% increase allowed in rebuilding would be unfair to smaller homes where 10% of their structure was less than a home with much larger square footage.

“I think there’s a genuine issue of equity here,” Cole said.

City Council unanimously approved the proposed recommendation with the addition of allowing a 10% increase or a minimum of 150 foot increase, whichever is greater. They also asked members of city staff to explore a way to institute a case by case review for rebuilding projects to make sure the process was equitable for homes of all sizes.

“The argument can be made that there’s an issue of equity here given the size of the average lot and given the size of the affected lots here,” Gordo said. “I think maybe this is an issue that we hand off to staff and allow the staff to give some thought to and possibly have some sort of sliding scale based on the lot size.”

Because of the expected high demand for labor, architects and materials in the coming years, the city recommended that an automatic 12-month extension for all zoning and subdivision entitlements and building permits. This includes all existing approvals and future permits deemed complete while the temporary ordinance is in effect.

Councilmember Jason Lyon asked that members of city staff work on a framework of how to promote design cohesion in rebuilding and sustainable reconstruction.

“I don’t know that we’re looking at mandating any of those things but how can we really put our money where our mouth is and incentivize those things and very mindfully try to promote those things because otherwise we’re going to end up with a hodge podge things,” Lyon said.