Dear San Gabriel,
Happy new year! We hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends during the holiday season, and we hope you had the opportunity to see Santa travel through our streets in this annual San Gabriel tradition.
We have a brief update this month, including information on several pedestrian walkway improvements, an update on illegal dumping and notes on several developments that have occurred within the City.
With that, here’s what’s happening this month:
Community Development
- You might have heard that the Planning Commission approved the proposed Blossom Market food hall earlier this month with a unanimous vote. This is a great kick-off to the upcoming work that we’ll be starting on the Mission District economic analysis, which will re-imagine our City’s core. You can see a rendering of the food hall below.
- Our Neighborhood Improvement Services division is renewing its focus on illegal dumping. Our team has been placing cameras around the City to monitor chronic dumping areas alongside outreach to local block meetings and homeowners associations. Friendly reminder: if you have a large or bulky item, be sure to take advantage of free pickups provided by Athens Services. More information about this service can be found here.
- On January 22, we’ll be participating in the 2019 LA County Homeless Count which helps the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority understand homelessness in the region and where to direct resources where they are needed most. Over 8,000 volunteers will canvas more than 80 cities and 200 communities across Los Angeles County. Our Community Development team will take the lead as drivers on the night of the count, and we’ll also be accepting up to 30 community volunteers.
- Earlier this month, we held our first Historic Preservation and Cultural Resource Commission at City Hall. The commission – which aims to preserve San Gabriel’s unique identity – began with introductions, training from the City Attorney and our Planning team.
Community Services
- Congratulations to our team at Community Services for another successful Turkey Trot! The 43rd Annual Turkey Trot was held on November 17 at Vincent Lugo Park and featured hundreds of runners.
- With help from the San Gabriel Women’s Foundation, our Community Services team also helped plan our annual Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony earlier this month. With Santa, local community groups, food trucks and more, the annual Holiday Tree Lighting is a perennial San Gabriel favorite.