Pasadena Advances Repeal of Its SB 9 Lot-Split Ban in the Eaton Fire Burn Zone (Ordinances 7455 & 7457)

Pasadena's city council voted on July 20, 2026 to begin repealing Ordinance Nos. 7455 and 7457 — the interim urgency ordinances that have blocked SB 9 urban lot splits and two-unit "duplex" projects in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones inside the Eaton Fire burn area since September 2025. The repeal cleared only a first reading; a second reading and formal adoption are still required before SB 9 processing actually resumes on affected parcels.

If you own land in Pasadena's burned northeast neighborhoods, this matters because it directly controls whether you can split your lot or add a second unit under state law — or whether the city can still say no.

What did Ordinances 7455 and 7457 actually ban?

Ordinance 7455 prohibited urban lot splits and SB 9 two-unit development on parcels sitting inside both a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and the Eaton Fire's burn perimeter. Ordinance 7457 extended that prohibition.

Pasadena adopted 7455 on September 15, 2025 as a 45-day interim urgency ordinance, the maximum initial term allowed under California Government Code §65858. The city then adopted Ordinance 7457, extending the ban by an additional 22 months and 15 days — first reading was conducted at the October 20–21, 2025 council meeting — bringing the combined restriction to the full 24-month cap that state law allows for these extensions. The ban covers both mechanisms SB 9 created: splitting a single-family lot into two parcels (Government Code §66411.7) and building up to two units per resulting parcel (Government Code §65852.21).

Geographically, the ordinances apply only to a subset of Pasadena — the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone parcels inside the Eaton Fire boundary, concentrated in neighborhoods like Upper Hastings Ranch, Victory-Rose/Victory Rows, and Dundee Heights. The January 2025 fire destroyed 185 structures within Pasadena city limits (117 single-family homes, 12 multifamily units, 3 ADUs, with 133 deemed uninhabitable or structural collapse hazards); the far larger share of Eaton Fire destruction occurred next door in unincorporated Altadena, which falls under Los Angeles County jurisdiction and isn't covered by these Pasadena ordinances.

Why is Pasadena repealing its own SB 9 ban?

Pasadena is repealing 7455 and 7457 because of litigation, not a change of heart on fire-recovery policy. YIMBY Law and other petitioners sued in December 2025, and reporting indicates the city agreed to a conditional settlement that resolves the claims against it if it repeals both ordinances.

On December 10, 2025, YIMBY Law filed Yes In My Back Yard, et al. v. Gavin Newsom, et al. in Los Angeles County Superior Court, naming Governor Newsom, LA County, and the cities of Los Angeles, Malibu, and Pasadena. The petition argues that the executive order suspending SB 9 in fire zones — and the local ordinances built on it — is unlawful, and asks the court to order SB 9 applications processed in the Palisades and Eaton fire areas. Pasadena Now reports the city and petitioners reached a conditional settlement under which Pasadena's exposure resolves if the council repeals both ordinances by a set deadline — after which SB 9 applications would again be processed in the affected zones. [VERIFY: exact settlement deadline and any court order terms — confirm against the settlement agreement or court filing before citing a specific date.]

The Planning Commission recommended repeal at its June 24, 2026 meeting, and the council took its first-reading vote on July 20, 2026. A second reading is required before the repeal is final and effective. [VERIFY: date of second reading / final adoption and the repeal's effective date — not yet reported as of this writing.]

What is SB 9, and how could a city block it at all?

SB 9, in force statewide since January 2022, generally requires cities to ministerially approve qualifying urban lot splits and two-unit projects on single-family lots — meaning no discretionary hearing, no denial based on subjective design preferences. Pasadena could only block it in the Eaton Fire zone because the Governor temporarily suspended the underlying state statutes there.

Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-32-25, signed July 30, 2025, suspended Government Code §§65852.21 and 66411.7 — the two statutes that create SB 9 lot splits and two-unit development — within Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones inside the Palisades and Eaton fire perimeters, to the extent those statutes limit local discretion over SB 9 projects. The order gave local agencies (not the state) the discretion to decide whether, and for how long, to restrict SB 9 review in those zones. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a parallel order for the Palisades burn area. Pasadena's city council used that discretion to adopt Ordinance 7455 and its extension, 7457.

This is a separate and distinct episode from an earlier 2021–2022 dispute, in which Pasadena's Ordinance 7384 tried to exempt self-declared "landmark districts" from SB 9 broadly. The Attorney General's office challenged that ordinance in March 2022 as inconsistent with SB 9's narrow historic-property exemption; Pasadena revised it (Ordinance 7391) and the AG's office called the outcome a successful collaboration in May 2022. That dispute involved different ordinance numbers, a different legal theory, and no connection to the Eaton Fire. No public AG or HCD statement specifically addressing Ordinances 7455 or 7457 has been identified; the only outside legal challenge to the 2025–2026 fire-zone SB 9 suspension found in reporting is the YIMBY Law lawsuit above.

Timeline: from ban to repeal

What does this mean for your parcel in the burn zone?

If your property sits inside the affected Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone / Eaton Fire boundary, SB 9 lot splits and two-unit applications are still not processable under Pasadena's current ordinances as of this writing — the repeal isn't final until the second reading passes. Once it is, you should be able to file SB 9 urban lot split and two-unit applications on qualifying single-family lots in that zone the same as anywhere else in the city, subject to SB 9's normal statutory conditions (owner-occupancy requirements, objective development standards, and the usual exclusions for historic resources, wetlands, and similarly protected sites).

Before filing, confirm with Pasadena Planning & Community Development that the repeal has been finally adopted and is in effect for your specific parcel — a first-reading vote does not change what's processable today. [VERIFY: confirm current ordinance status directly with the city before submitting an SB 9 application on an affected parcel.]

What else changed for Eaton Fire rebuilds in Pasadena?

Separately from the SB 9 ban, Pasadena adopted rebuild relief that applies whether or not SB 9 processing is allowed on your lot. None of it depended on the fate of Ordinances 7455/7457.

Around the February 24, 2025 council meeting, the city adopted "like-for-like" rebuild relief allowing up to 10% additional square footage without triggering standard permitting requirements, setback flexibility for relocating or preserving nonconforming structures, and a 12-month extension of zoning and subdivision entitlements and building permits citywide. Separate reporting indicates this relief window was later extended to March 23, 2027. [VERIFY: confirm the exact ordinance number and current expiration date directly against the city's rebuild-relief page before relying on it.]

On or around August 26, 2025, the council voted to waive plan check and building permit fees (estimated at roughly $3.2 million), reduce construction and demolition deposits from $12,000 to $1,000 per site, and waive sidewalk-inspection, fire-sprinkler/landscape-review, and electric-service fees — an estimated $4.25 million in total relief if fully used, for owner-occupied homes destroyed in the fire and rebuilt like-for-like. The city estimated roughly 125 properties eligible. The council separately adopted Ordinance 7444 on March 24, 2025, giving qualifying tenants who lost 10% or more of their income due to the fire a temporary defense against eviction for nonpayment of rent accrued January 15 through July 31, 2025, plus a 12-month repayment period.