News of the Arroyo
Title: | Survey: Area not so NIMBY - Activism rated in W. Pasadena |
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Date: | 2005-12-26 |
Summary: | December 26, 2005 - A peculiar take on neighbor activism from the Star News claims a decline in the clout of neighborhood associations on the west of Pasadena. |
Author: | Gene Maddaus, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | PASADENA - In West Pasadena, where \"NIMBY\" can seem like a compliment, neighborhood activism has never seemed stronger. In the past year, residents have taken credit for defeating the massive Ambassador College development and humbling the mighty NFL. So why does a recent city survey show neighborhood groups west of the Arroyo Seco are losing their sway? The survey showed a steep decline in both membership and awareness of neighborhood associations since 2003. Though it is still slightly more active than the rest of the city, West Pasadena has lost its whopping advantage. Neighborhood leaders said they had not noticed a substantial decline in membership or participation in the past year. Some questioned the validity of the survey, which was unscientific and relied on mailed-in responses. But others theorized that the survey results may be due to higher-than-normal turnover in homes, as new residents stream in from the Westside of Los Angeles. \"Certainly if we have a declining household involvement in our community, it\'s indicative of the Westside-ification of West Pasadena,\" said Mike Vogler, board member of the West Pasadena Residents\' Association. The theory is that new residents are less likely to be active in local affairs, at least until they feel more comfortable in the community and begin to put down roots. Older residents are giving way to younger families, often in the entertainment field. \"They see a nice bedroom community with unique and extraordinary homes that will give them a better quality of life for a similar price,\" said Brian Biery, head of the city\'s Neighborhood Connections office. \"Because the housing market has been so hot, there\'s an incredible amount of real estate movement, and as a result quite a few new neighbors.\" Traditionally, many residents from other parts of the city would move up to the affluent western and southern neighborhoods, said Kyle Kemp, incoming president of the Pasadena Foothills Association of Realtors. But with housing prices rising at a rate of 20 percent a year, most homes in West Pasadena and Oak Knoll are now unaffordable to residents of the rest of the city. \"We\'ve had a huge influx of people that are purchasing from out of the area,\" Kemp said. \"We have a changing of the guard.\" Councilman Steve Madison, who represents West Pasadena and has often found himself at odds with WPRA, has questioned whether neighborhood leaders represent as broad a swath of the community as they claim. \"You wonder if the number of people who feel really connected, who feel the association is something they\'re really a part of, has changed,\" Madison said. If the survey numbers are to be believed, they are stark. In 2003, 59 percent of respondents in West Pasadena said they belonged to their neighborhood association. This year, only 44 percent say they do. In 2003, 67 percent were familiar with their neighborhood association. Now, only 48 percent are - a 19-point drop. Meanwhile, in rapidly gentrifying Northwest Pasadena, neighborhood involvement is holding steady or increasing. In the fifth city council district, which straddles North Lake Avenue, membership jumped from 34 percent to 44 percent in two years, while neighborhood awareness went from 42 percent to 58 percent. The Neighborhood Connections office has worked to foster neighborhood groups in the traditionally lower-in-come Northwest. With the help of an increasingly affluent population focused on such quality-of-life issues as traffic and parks, that work seemed to be taking hold. \"People are taking an interest in issues in the district,\" said Councilman Victor Gordo, who represents the area. \"It\'s a very good thing that participation is up.\" As for West Pasadena, neighborhood activists aren\'t conceding any ground. \"I would argue we in fact have more influence,\" Vogler said. \"After all, we defeated the NFL.\" gene.maddaus@sgvn.com (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4444 |
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