Pasadena Design & Historic Preservation Home Page

city home

PD buttons

general plan update

community planning

current planning/zoning

design & historic preservation

planning services

commissions & meetings

news

environmental notices

major projects

planning studies/proposed ordinances

DESIGN & HISTORIC PRESERVATION

DESIGN REVIEW

The Pasadena Municipal Code requires design review of new construction and alterations throughout the City. To determine if a project will require design review, click here to review the thresholds listed in the zoning code. The map below illustrates the areas of the city where design review may be required. In addition to the specific thresholds for these areas, all multi-family development projects consisting of 3 or more total units and any new building over 5,000 square feet in size citywide require design review. Depending on the size of the project, design review may be conducted by city staff or at a public hearing before the Design Commission, a group of nine citizens appointed by the Mayor & City Council.

(Click here to enlarge map)

The Citywide Design Principles support high quality building design in Pasadena. Detailed design guidelines have been adopted for various areas of the city to assist architects, developers, city staff, the Design Commission and the public understand how to achieve high quality building designs. Visit our design guidelines page to view and download the guidelines that apply to each area of the city.

Application forms and submittal requirements for design review may be found below.

Design review application form (PDF) (Word)	Complete this application for all applications for design review
Environmental assessment form	Complete this form for all applications for design review that involve construction of new buildings.
Public notification packet	Use this packet as a guide to preparing mailing labels, radius maps and notice posters for projects that require a public hearing before the Design Commission (use the link above to view the thresholds that apply to Design Commission review).
Preliminary Consultation submittal requirements	Beginning January 1, 2010, applications for design review that involve new construction or major alterations to existing buildings will be required to go through a preliminary consultation process to obtain comments on the proposed design concept prior to preparing detailed drawings for the formal decision-making phases of Design Review. These submittal requirements list the elements of a complete Preliminary Consultation submittal.
New 3D Digital Model Submittal Requirement	Beginning January 1, 2010, applications for design review that require Design Commission review will need to include a 3D digital model of the proposed new building. A list of acceptable formats will be posted to this website in the near future.
Concept Design Review submittal requirements	These submittal requirements list the elements of a complete Concept Design Review submittal.
Final Design Review submittal requirements	These submittal requirements list the elements of a complete Final Design Review submittal.
Consolidated Design Review submittal requirements: Multi-family residential projects Minor rehabilitation/storefront alterations Signs, awnings, graphics, minor projects New Construction/Major Rehabilitation	Projects that are minor or that have extensive design requirements in the Zoning Code may, at the discretion of city staff, go through a single phase of formal design review. These submittal requirements list the elements of a complete Consolidated Design Review submittal, where authorized by staff.
Design guidelines	Use this link to learn about, view and download the design guidelines that apply to various areas of the city.