June 12, 2002
Dear :
I am sending this letter to a very select few community leaders in Pasadena to announce that the Worldwide Church of God is keeping its promise to the community to create a showcase residential development on our Ambassador campus.
I am delighted to inform you that, today, the Worldwide Church of God submitted its project description to the City of Pasadena, continuing the vision of an entirely residential project, while seeking to retain the Ambassador Auditorium through a retooled Community Facilities District, and preserve the gardens and historic homes.
We have worked diligently for over 50 years to create a beautiful campus here, and have spent the last five years working with Pasadena to create a new project that brings together all of the elements that have come to define Pasadena as a unique, inclusive and well-planned community. The working name for our project is: Ambassador Garden.
In order to take advantage of the essential underlying prior work done for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), and to provide for the generous mitigation of impacts by using an intentionally high theoretical maximum figure, the description includes the same 1,942-unit count as did the prior SEIR. This is a study number and not the final unit count, which will be arrived at over time and with the input of the city staff and neighborhood groups during our listening phase as discussed below. In addition, the proposal calls for an approximately 6 percent allocation to affordable housing. We also seek to retain the Ambassador Auditorium through a retooled Community Facilities District, and preserve the gardens and historic homes.
But this is only a beginning step in a path we intend to take together with Pasadena. We will soon select our master developer and consulting architect, and begin a "listening" phase with key stakeholders and community groups. Once we have completed our listening phase, we will then present a refined vision. We will also reexamine the traffic mitigation plan to meet all of Pasadena’s needs.
I am anxious to schedule a meeting with you as soon as we announce our new development team. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me. I am excited for our new journey together.
Sincerely,
Bernard W. Schnippert, Ph.D., Esq.
Director of Finance & Planning
Chief Financial Officer
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2002