Boy, did self-storage ever get bashed by a Pasadena resident, who also happens to be an editor for the Pasadena Star News. Yesterday he published an editorial as part of the ongoing argument to save Persson's Nursery.
I've been following this fight in the blog over the past few weeks. It's the saga of a storage developer attempting to lease land out from under a family-owned business that has occupied the spot for many years. Supposedly, the developer offered to financially assist the nursery with relocation to a plot across the street, but now the struggle has expanded to include the issue of open green space. According to Larry Wilson, "This nutty scheme to replace that greenery with ugly self-storage buildings is in clear violoation of city guidelines."
What I didn't know was that four years ago, the Pasadena City Council passed a ban on any new self-storage businesses. The reasons? "They don't create more than a handful or jobs or tax revenue; they take of scads of room in a space-poor city; there are already 17 self-storage businesses in Pasadena already."
I give Wilson creditit's a well-written piece. And I have to admit lush green plants are more visually enticing than buildings of any flavor, including self-storage. And I'm still curious to see how this one plays out. The gloves are still on for Pas residents, who will be demonstrating at the Victory Park farmer's market tomorrow at 9 a.m.