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You are here: Home / Achievements / The Arroyo Seco 1979 ‑ 2021
The Bridge and Arroyo as seen from the Casita

The Arroyo Seco 1979 ‑ 2021

1 Jan 1979

1979 – WPRA expressed concern about encroachment into the Arroyo Seco by a proposal for a 16-unit condominium at 50 North Arroyo.

Rigg Family Picnic at Devils Gate, March 31, 1888. Courtesy of the Archives at Pasadena Museum of History (E1-13)
Rigg Family Picnic at Devils Gate, March 31, 1888.
Click to Enlarge.
Courtesy of the Archives at Pasadena Museum of History (E1-13)

1982 – Urged passage of the Arroyo Seco (preservation) ordinance with revisions, especially related to plans to permit parking on turf areas new the Rose Bowl.

1983 – WPRA joined with the City of Pasadena and the Atlantic Richfield Foundation to fund a study of the endangered Colorado Bridge landmark spanning the Arroyo Seco. 

1984 – Endorsed plans to divert water in the Lower Arroyo Seco from the flood control channel to create a 300 yard free-flowing stream along the east side of the channel.

La Casita Del Arroyo after the 1985 fire
La Casita Del Arroyo after the 1985 fire

1985 – Established a liaison with the Pasadena Garden Club and the Friends of the Arroyo to help restore La Casita del Arroyo, which was severely damaged when someone broke in and set three fires.

Also, the WPRA established another sub-committee to review the EIR on a land exchange in which the City would acquire the U.S. Army Reserve Armory Desiderio site.

The Arroyo in Pasadena. Courtesy of the Archives at Pasadena Museum of History (A7-66)
The Arroyo in Pasadena.
Click to enlarge.
Courtesy of the Archives at Pasadena Museum of History (A7-66)

1986 – WPRA contributed $1000 for a fund raising drive toward the restoration of La Casita.

1990 – Members of WPRA’s Board of Directors were appointed to the City’s Arroyo Task Force.

2002 –The WPRA challenged the Arroyo Seco Master Environmental Impact Report (ASMEIR) by providing City Council with an analysis of the five ASMP elements.

WPRA helped form the Coalition for Protection of Arroyo Seco (CPAS) to preserve the Arroyo Seco, during the planning process for the Arroyo Seco Master Plan(s) (ASMP).

The La Loma Bridge, decades before it became the John Van de Kamp Bridge. Courtesy of the Archives at Pasadena Museum of History (B5-16)
The La Loma Bridge, decades before it became the John Van de Kamp Bridge
Click to enlarge
Courtesy of the Archives at Pasadena Museum of History (B5-16)

2006 – WPRA started monitoring the re-use of the Desiderio Army Reserve Center, then open for redevelopment and participated in the public comment process.

2007 – WPRA engaged in the discussion about City Council’s decision to approve forDesiderio Army Reserve Center a nine-unit affordable bungalow court to be built by Habitat for Humanity, with 75% of the space devoted to open space, once the federal government releases the property to the City.

2009 – Supported listing of central and lower Arroyo Seco on the National Register of Historic Places.

John Van de Kamp Bridge 2019
(La Loma Bridge)

2012 – The WPRA pressed for water capture and environmental safeguards within the pending Devil’s Gate sediment removal project.

WPRA supported the La Casita Foundation refurbishing project.

2013 – WPRA co-sponsored a successful community “Friendraiser,” which raised $45,000 for the La Casita Foundation’s refurbishing project.

2014 – The WPRA formally objected to the County’s aggressive remediation plan for removing 5 million cubic yards of more of dirt and debris from the Devil’s Gate Dam and advised alternatives.

2017 to 2019 – WPRA strongly advocated with written documentation a slow, smarter and less disruptive removal of sediment around the Devil’s Gate Dam. This advocacy continued to reveal the air pollution and eco damage already in progress. 

2018 – WPRA presses City to remove dead brush and trees in the Lower Arroyo to reduce fire hazards.

2019 – WPRA opposed the building of a public restroom within the new neighborhood Desiderio Park.

2020 – WPRA opposes the Arroyo Seco Canyon Project DEIR with spreading basins as well as the Lower Arroyo Habitat Restoration Plan as proposed and then suggests alternatives.

2021 – WPRA requests that the City delay implementation of the current options for suicide-deterring Vertical Barrier Enhancements to the Colorado Street Bridge, and continue to conduct an in-depth review of alternatives, including any technologies that could replace the physical barriers, or enhance a reduced height of those barriers.

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West Pasadena Residents’ Association
Post Office Box 50252
Pasadena, California  91115
The WPRA service area is bounded on the north by Colorado Boulevard, on the east by Fair Oaks Avenue and on the south and west by the city limits.
All WPRA activities are funded through membership dues and contributions. The WPRA receives no public funding and has no paid employees. Since the WPRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit corporation, contributions and donations are fully deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Tag Directory

Ambassador Campus Housing Development (19) Ambassador West Housing Development (28) Arroyo Seco (97) Art Center College of Design (8) brookside golf club (2) brookside golf course (1) Colorado Street Bridge (22) Connecting Pasadena Project (CPP) (9) Desiderio Project (18) Devil’s Gate Dam Sediment Removal “Big Dig” (31) Green Hotel Project (6) Huntington Hospital (12) Pasadena accessory dwelling units (ADU) (16) Pasadena affordable housing (38) Pasadena Central District (37) Pasadena City Council (62) Pasadena Civic Center and YWCA (12) Pasadena crime (26) Pasadena density (62) Pasadena drought (2) Pasadena drought & water contamination (21) Pasadena General Plan (58) Pasadena governance (140) Pasadena history (69) Pasadena La Casita del Arroyo (7) Pasadena maintenance & utilities (64) Pasadena mansionization (23) Pasadena neighborhood associations (128) Pasadena Orange Grove Boulevard (21) Pasadena ordinances (39) Pasadena planning & development (148) Pasadena public transportation (25) Pasadena senior games (1) Pasadena short term rentals (STR) (7) Pasadena social scene (62) Pasadena State of the City address (3) Pasadena traffic (97) Pasadena trees and open spaces (73) Pasadena Unified School District (35) pasadena wildlife (1) Rose Bowl (56) San Rafael Elementary (34) SR-710 tunnel proposal - closing the gap - DEIR & FEIS (64) Vista del Arroyo Hotel (12) WPRA surveys (5)

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