This September, I took a personal trip to Granada, Spain to learn more about Alhambra’s sister city. Our city shares so much connection with Granada — from our city name to our city logo. In 1874, 10-year-old Ruth Wilson convinced her father to name our city “Alhambra” after reading Washing Irving’s book Tales of the Alhambra on the legends of the Alhambra Moorish palace in Granada, Spain.
Visiting Alhambra’s palace in person was magnificent and brought me so much pride in our city’s history. The Alhambra palace’s arched windows and doorways are made of beautiful stone, hand carved with Islamic calligraphy from the Nasrid dynasty, and surrounded by sculpted stucco decorations and geometric tile mosaics. This architecture inspired our city’s logo: an arched window similar to those in the Alhambra palace looking out onto our beautiful city in Alhambra, California. This trip was extra special as I prepare to end my time as Mayor come December 2024.
As my Mayorship comes to an end, I want to express my gratitude to our residents for their support and commitment over the last four years. Together we’ve passed historic legislation, programs, and projects, including:
Alhambra’s first ever Dog Park, which will be built next to Almansor Golf Course Driving Range. Groundbreaking for the dog park is tentatively set for 2025. Alhambra is also opening two additional ‘pocket park’ spaces, one at the corner of Fremont and Hellman and another at the Joslyn Center.
Alhambra’s first ever Community Center, which will serve the entire community with health and fitness courses, classrooms for students to study in, open space for groups and organizations to gather and meet, and so much more. This center will be located at the Shorb Clinic at Shorb St and 6th St. The groundbreaking is tentatively set for 2025.
At the beginning of this year, we approved Alhambra’s first ever Bike Plan to create a safe bike network throughout the city for students, seniors and families. The City will be working to identify grant funding from local, state, and federal agencies to implement this plan in the years to come.
In an effort to make our streets safer for bikers and pedestrians, the Council approved Alhambra’s Pedestrian Safety Priority Zones which identify eight dangerous areas throughout the city to be targeted with safety improvements in the next two years. The City Council has convinced Metro to move $14.4 million of Measure R dollars into our local pedestrian safety plan, providing Alhambra with the resources necessary for these improvements.
Next year, Alhambra will complete its first ever Sustainability Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide after Councilmember Jeff Maloney and I partnered to secure $675,000 from Congresswoman Judy Chu’s office to support this plan. This plan now has a dedicated staff person to ensure its timely completion and implementation, so that our residents may continue to enjoy clean air, clean water, and a clean environment for generations to come.
We are currently working to develop Alhambra’s first ever Historic Preservation Ordinance that will protect the character and history of our beautiful city, while increasing local property values. We are currently engaged in a democratic process for community feedback, hosting multiple community meetings across the city where individuals are being surveyed for their thoughts on issues such as reducing property taxes through the Mills Act or what process a homeowner should follow to identify their home as historic. This ordinance is set to be created in Spring 2025 after robust community feedback.
Finally, at our most recent council meeting Alhambra approved a plan to reduce the number of vacant storefronts throughout the City of Alhambra, and to ensure business owners are maintaining properties that are vacant.
Each and every one of you has played a tremendous role in making our community excellent: by helping a neighbor who needed a hand, showing up to meetings to share concerns, or volunteering to keep Alhambra beautiful. Alhambra is my hometown, and I know the people that live here are what makes this city one of the best in the world. You all will always hold an extra special place in my heart. Thank you for the contributions you all have made to Alhambra. I look forward to continuing to serve you all in the years to come.
With gratitude always,
Mayor Sasha Renée Pérez
