Notes from District 4 Leadership Meeting
March 18, 2005

Councilman Steve Haderlein led the meeting.  There were attendees from Upper Hastings, Lower Hastings, East Eaton Wash, Victory Rose, and one somewhere in the area west Sierra Madre Blvd and south of Orange Grove (didn't get the name).

Main presentation was by Police Chief Melekian, Lt. Phlunte Riddle, and Lt. Eric Mills.   Lt. Riddle is the East Pasadena service area commander.  Lt. Eric Mills is in charge of the traffic division.  Both Lts also happen to live in Lower Hastings.

The East Pasadena service area is basically east of Altadena Drive.

As part of the development agreement for Hastings Village, an East Pasadena Policing Fund was created by the developer.  It has been used to fund the police substation on East Colorado.  The fund will be just about exhausted when the substation lease expires in June 2006.  It is expected the substation will then close.

Recently the HOPE team has been co-located at the East Pasadena substation, resulting in more police cars coming and going in East Pasadena.

There has been a rash of vehicle burglaries in east Pasadena.   Keep things out of sight and lock doors - even in your driveway.

There are 15 traffic / motorcycle officers for the city.

Control of traffic has three components:  education, engineering, enforcement.

Lt. Mills has been analyzing data on traffic collisions and citations from throughout the city.  Twenty different factors are tracked for each collision, and he is trying to also organize the tickets with the same factors.  Trying to determine where and what the worst problems are and focus officers on those when they aren't working the scene of a collision.

For the 6 months of July 1 to Dec 31, 2004, there were 1364 collisions elsewhere in Pasadena and 254 in East Pasadena service area.

Are making a big push on pedestrian safety, including citing drivers for not making a full stop at limit lines and for turning in front of pedestrians.   Do sometimes give a warning instead of a citation (officer's descretion), but that warning is entered into the computer so that the next time a driver is stopped the officer is aware they have already been warned.

Based on collision and citation statistics, intend to focus extra enforcement on the following:
Will send e-mail to attendees with traffic statistics and situation updates.


Lower Hastings much concern about left turn from eastbound Foothill onto Halstead.  Left turn light only works sometimes.  Cars can wait several lights get through.

Victory Rose has lots of problems with Pasadena High School students and parents.  Much concern about intersection of Woodlyn Road with Washington Blvd.  Interest in making Woodlyn no outlet to Washington.

Victory Rose also raised concern about mansionization and what regulations might be enacted to prevent people buying houses just to demolish them and build huge houses out of character with others in the neighborhood. Mention was made of some regulations Arcadia has put in place.  City Manager Cynthia Kurtz responded that establishment of historic districts were being encouraged to accomplished that, but acknowledged that left without remedy non-historic neighborhoods, or those that don't want to have the extreme restrictions of historic neighborhoods.  Some indication was made that possibilities would be looked into.






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