Thursday, July 16, 2026

PUSD Staff to Brief Board Tonight on Soil Remediation Project, 87 Trees Remaining

Pasadena Unified School District staff will brief trustees Thursday on Eaton Fire soil remediation at 11 campuses, in a presentation that does not address the district’s unresolved dispute with the City of Pasadena over who controls tree removals on school grounds.

In materials prepared for the meeting, the district acknowledged that the city “now disagrees with the District’s position on jurisdiction and process.” PUSD maintains that state-supervised removal of hazardous contamination is not subject to municipal land-use rules. The city maintains its Tree Protection Ordinance applies to protected trees on campuses within city limits. The question has not been decided by any court.

The 13-slide presentation, titled “Restoring Safe Outdoor Learning Spaces,” makes its case on public-health grounds. It states that the January 2025 fire destroyed five district schools, cost nearly 1,000 students and 120 employees their homes, and forced the evacuation of more than 10,430 students and 1,300 employees. The fire’s impact, the presentation says, extended beyond damaged buildings.

Following guidance from Pasadena Public Health and families’ concerns, according to the slides, the district collected more than 1,000 soil samples and identified lead, arsenic and other fire-related contaminants. More than 8,000 cubic yards of impacted soil were identified, and 11 campuses required additional remediation. Locations with fire-related contaminants — soccer fields, play yards and school gardens — were closed for use in spring 2025. Students have lost access to those spaces for more than a year, the presentation states.

The slides attribute to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control a determination that impacted soil presents “an imminent and substantial threat.” The quotation appears in truncated form, and the underlying document is not included.

Staff frame the decision as a choice between two options. Removing contaminated soil, the presentation says, restores full campus use and is a permanent solution. Leaving it in place would require a land use covenant, permanent impervious engineered caps, long-term land use restrictions, ongoing environmental controls, and further remediation before any future modernization or construction.

The district’s goal, the slides state, is to restore campuses rather than permanently restrict them.

The estimated cost of the soil removal work is $6.6 million.

Trees

Under a heading reading “Current Status,” staff report 87 trees remaining — 41 described as potentially mature or native, 46 as not protected under city criteria.

The district had announced plans in June to remove 193 trees across the 11 campuses.

The presentation devotes three slides to trees, stating that the trees are not the problem and the soil is. In some locations, staff say, roots occupy contaminated soil, stumps prevent complete excavation, and utilities and infrastructure limit alternatives. Trees are removed only where necessary to safely complete soil remediation, the presentation says.

The board directed staff to preserve as many mature and native trees as possible. In response, according to the slides, the district conducted a tree-by-tree evaluation, engaged arborists and wildlife biologists, and explored alternatives such as air-knifing at an additional $2 million-plus investment. One-for-one tree replacement is described as planned. Every feasible opportunity to preserve trees has been evaluated, the presentation concludes.

Coordination, and what the slides do not say

A slide headed “Months of Planning and Coordination” lists Pasadena Public Health, Los Angeles County Public Health, DTSC, the City of Pasadena, environmental consultants, and arborists and wildlife biologists. The district did not move forward without consultation, it states. The slide does not describe what that coordination produced, or where it broke down.

A section titled “Questions We’ve Heard” addresses four: whether another method could work — sometimes, the district says, but often at the cost of long-term restrictions; why not parks — different regulatory standards; why schools — higher standards because children spend so much time there; and why now — students are off campus, and outdoor spaces can reopen before school begins. “Every question deserves an answer,” the slide reads.

The presentation does not mention permits, stop-work orders, or the city’s jurisdictional claim. It closes with five commitments — protect student health, restore every affected area, preserve as many trees as possible, replace removed trees, and continue communicating openly — and directs the public to pusd.us/restoringourschools and Outdoor Learning Resolution 2621.