Pasadena sues to keep UCLA football at the Rose Bowl, Glendale caves on ADU fight, and more

Here's what we're reading this week:

Rose Bowl, city sue UCLA for alleged plan to move to SoFi Stadium "The city of Pasadena, California, and the Rose Bowl Operating Company have sued UCLA for allegedly trying to move its college football games from one of the sport's most iconic stadiums to the much newer SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California." (ESPN)

• This might make those pre-Olympic upgrades a little awkward.

Glendale Pressed to Comply With State ADU Laws "In Dec. 2023, HCD issued a review of Glendale's ADU ordinance and identified 16 non-compliant provisions, HCD's August NOV states. In March of that year, the city claimed its ordinance was compliant despite those findings." (Glendale News-Press)

• It's not the only time Glendale has played chicken with state regulators when it comes to housing laws.

The great EV retreat of 2025 "Since President Trump’s return to the Oval Office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has successfully campaigned to invalidate several California auto emission standards, including a landmark rule that would’ve required 35% of new vehicles that automakers supply to California car dealerships to be zero-emission or plug-in hybrid starting next year....Separately, Trump’s budget bill terminated federal incentives at the end of September that made zero-emission vehicles more cost-competitive with gas cars. As I recently wrote, California saw record-high sales numbers of EVs and other clean vehicles as consumers scrambled to dealerships to take advantage of expiring deals." (LA Times)

Eyes on the Street: Nearly Completed Wilshire/La Cienega Station in Beverly Hills "Metro rail will arrive in Beverly Hills when the 4-mile 3-station D Line subway extension section 1 opens - by March 2026" (Streetsblog LA)

Beverly Hills will restrict parking for new affordable housing "Residents prohibited from receiving permits under the ordinance include those who live in buildings that utilize state law parking reductions and exemptions. For example, a new building project that is within a half-mile from a major transit station is not required to provide any onsite parking under Assembly Bill 2097. With the anticipated opening of two Metro stations in Beverly Hills, the city will prohibit residents in those buildings from obtaining parking permits in order to maintain street parking for existing residents." (Beverly Press)

• Editor's Note: In 2019, former L.A. City Councilmember proposed a near identical policy to this for Transit Oriented Communities projects where applicants availed themselves of parking reduction incentives. It did not move forward based on legal guidance from then State Attorney General Kamala Harris, which stated that "[California] Vehicle Code sec. 22507 does not authorize local authorities, in issuing long-term residential parking permits, to distinguish among residents based on the type of dwelling in which they live."

Los Angeles will nearly double recycled water for 500,000 residents "The recycled water will allow the city to stop taking water from creeks that feed Mono Lake most of the time — which promises to resolve one of California’s longest-running environmental conflicts." (LA Times)

What are the motives behind Frank McCourt’s Dodger Stadium gondola plan? "McCourt and his surrogates have said the only proposal on the board now is the gondola itself, and any subsequent plan to develop the Dodger Stadium parking lots would be subject to a brand-new approval process, which would involve significant zoning changes and planning hearings. The Dodgers’ current owners also can veto any development there." (LA Times)

LA’s oceanfront power plant is a test of clean-energy ambitions in the new Trump era "On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners will decide whether to advance a plan to shift the plant to futuristic hydrogen-ready turbines. The $800-million-plus retrofit is an anchor in California’s effort to boost hydrogen, a potentially clean fuel that for now remains costly, water-intensive and rarely produced without oil and gas." (LAist)

L.A. Mayor Bass Makes Way for Expedited Commercial Rebuilds After Palisades Fire The executive order also keeps public and regulatory review in place for projects that would increase residential density or diverge from local zoning rules (Commercial Observer)

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