Jim Lomako
for Pasadena City Council, District 2
Contribute
We need money to pay for mailing to win this election. Any
amount is appreciated. If you donate $100.00 or more, the law requires
that we report your name, address, occupation, and employer. Click the button
to pay through Paypal with a credit card, debit card,
or from a checking account. Thank you.
Contact Us
Call 626-794-1234
Or mailto:jim4pasadena@gmail.com
Speech Given Before the Bungalow Heaven Neighborhood Association January 25, 2007
I’m Jim Lomako. I live in the North Pasadena Heights Landmark District. My web site is friendsofjimlomako.com
After moving to Pasadena in the early 80s, my first civic volunteer activity was collecting signatures on the PRIDE growth management initiative which was passed by the voters. I participated in the community consensus building process that led to the 1994 general plan which established the current growth limits and protected our neighborhoods.
We succeeded in protecting our neighborhoods, and we continue to improve them, but we have gotten off track in the city as a whole.
In early 2000 Paul Little appointed me to the CDC - the Community Development Committee. I soon was chosen by the CDC as their representative on the Design Commission and on the General Plan Oversight Committee. That meant that for the last six or seven years I have usually attended six meetings every month dealing with some of the most important issues facing our city. It also meant I had a ringside seat at one of the greatest failures in the history of Pasadena. The out of control growth we have seen in Central Pasadena is inconsistent with the growth limits. It never should have happened. We must get it under control and get Pasadena back on track.
Here’s how the failure happened. The 1994 General Plan required a Central District Specific Plan to act as blueprint for the Zoning regulations needed to enforce growth limits. That process didn’t even start until 2000 and wasn’t completed until 2005. The building boom started and continued for five years before we began to enforce the growth limits. We still might not have it right.
We have already reached the growth limits for residential development in the Central District – and we are still issuing building permits.
As if all this isn’t bad enough, the city council has granted too many exceptions to the rules. My job on the City Council will be to work for you and me -- not some developer who wants his project to pencil out.
If all you care about is preserving the character of our neighborhoods, you can vote for any one of the candidates.
But if you share my concern that Pasadena has gotten off track, that we need to get development under control, that we need to reaffirm our commitment to preserving our historical heritage, that we need to use our success to help our schools and the less fortunate members of our community — then vote for me. I’ll take our message to city hall and we will get Pasadena back on track.
This website is paid for by Friends of Jim Lomako, 1500 Whitefield Rd, Pasadena, CA 91104