News of the Arroyo
Title: | Persson's packing it in |
Subtitle: | Nursery to be uprooted by self-storage lot |
Date: | 2006-09-28 |
Summary: | September 28, 2006 - Plans for the Eaton Canyon corridor vary widely. |
Author: | Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star-News |
Content: | PASADENA - Wander down the gravel road into Persson\'s Nursery and find six acres of flora rivaling any botanical garden. Under a canopy of transmission lines, motley bursts of pansies, snapdragons and poppies punctuate a well-combed jungle that includes cypress, magnolia and apple trees. Not to mention 75 varieties of Japanese maples. After 35 years the Persson family is ready to sell off its inventory and leave Pasadena to make way for a self-storage business on the Edison-owned land. \"We\'re preparing to move out of here,\" said Gary Butters, nursery manager and husband to Linda Persson. \"And we\'re not going to move across the street.\" It\'s been nearly three years since Edison told Butter and Persson they would have to quit the land and negotiations began to relocate the business to the other side of Sierra Madre Boulevard, on another Edison-owned parcel. Although the parties involved dispute the specifics of their negotiations, Persson and Butters ultimately decided the cost of moving was out of their reach. \"We\'re not going to do this,\" Butters said. \"It\'s too expensive.\" Persson\'s notified Edison they would quit the property by Dec. 29. The nursery\'s lot is one piece of a larger development plan of Edison-owned parcels by RHC Communities, part of which will comprise a public recreation corridor. Part of the proposal includes replacing the nursery with 216,451 square feet of self-storage by Pacific Storage Partners. Opening a self-storage business requires City Council approval because such businesses in general do not contribute much to the tax base, do not create a lot of jobs and are aesthetically undesirable. But Councilman Steve Haderlein, who represents east Pasadena, said it was part of a worthwhile compromise. \"Why would we approve storage? The easy answer is: We wouldn\'t,\" Haderlein said. \"But if it\'s the key to getting the recreation corridor, we would.\" Under the proposal, RHC would also create about two acres of open space on another nearby Edison parcel. Down the street, the city is building a replacement ice rink for the one behind the Civic Auditorium. Closing the nursery has been difficult for Butters and Persson, as the husband-and-wife team hoped to hand the nursery down to a third generation. \"There is a lot of emotion,\" Butters said. George Minter, a lawyer representing RHC, said the developer was working to bring in another nursery to the lot that had been offered to Persson. Edison has been looking to increase revenue from its properties and has been striking similar development deals. Similar efforts were made recently to commercially develop a 72,200-square-foot Edison parcel in La Ca ada Flintridge. \"That would have been the intent here, except the zoning was particularly difficult,\" said Ann Wilson, a management analyst in City Hall. \"It was zoned open space, so anything a developer tried to do would require a zone change from the city.\" The City Council there is finalizing a deal to turn that property at the southwest corner of Foothill Boulevard and Indiana Avenue into a park, with other Edison land going toward a trail. The city will pay less than $5,000 each year to use that land, Wilson said. todd.ruiz@sgvn.com (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4444 |
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