A long-vacant city-owned lot near Eaton Blanche Park could become 3.5 acres of public open space under a stormwater project the Pasadena City Council took up Monday, Aug. 31.

The Eaton Wash Stormwater Capture Project would transform the site at East Del Mar Boulevard and South Kinneloa Avenue into a park with a dog park, community gardens, walking paths, gathering areas, an outdoor classroom and a pedestrian bridge linking the new space to Eaton Blanche Park. Underground, a subterranean concrete basin would intercept polluted runoff from a 10,294-acre drainage area before it reaches Eaton Wash and downstream waterways, Pasadena Now reported.

The council was asked to adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and approve the project's design plans. The item appeared on the council's consent calendar.

Whether the council approved the item has not been confirmed.

Approval of the environmental documents would not authorize construction. Public Works staff would need to return to the council for a separate construction contract vote, according to Pasadena Now. The next steps include final permitting and consultations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The project is about 90% designed. Construction is tentatively set to begin in July 2027 and last about 22 months, according to the city's project page. Most of Eaton Blanche Park would remain open during construction, though the area where the pedestrian bridge would land would be temporarily closed.

The city has secured about $2.3 million in design funding through Los Angeles County's Safe, Clean Water Program. Construction would be funded through a combination of that program and roughly $6.5 million committed by Caltrans.

The site sits near Willard Elementary School, the Boys & Girls Club and Ability First.

Plans for parkland along Eaton Wash date back decades. In 1967, the city's parks director approved a plan called "Eaton Canyon Area Development" that envisioned an interconnected system of parks and open spaces along the drainage, according to a Pasadena Now report on an Urban Forestry Advisory Committee presentation.

Greg de Vinck, Pasadena's director of public works, led community outreach events for the project, including a Sept. 18, 2025, session at Lamanda Park Library Pocket Park and a fourth event in June 2026 that drew students, parents, educators and residents. Dawn Petschauer, the city's stormwater program administrator, is the project's case manager and is listed as the contact on the state environmental filing.

In materials presented to the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee, the city described the project as a step toward improving water quality, recharging groundwater and helping Pasadena meet federal stormwater permit requirements under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

The Recreation and Parks Commission is scheduled to hear a presentation on the project Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 6 p.m. at the Public Works Building, 233 West Mountain St.