Anger and anxiety filled a packed town hall Tuesday as hundreds of Altadena residents pushed back against proposals that could transform single-family neighborhoods devastated by the Eaton Fire.

Nearly 450 people attended the meeting, where residents learned that 49% of properties sold in the burn zone since the wildfire have been purchased by developers, a revelation that drew an audible gasp from the crowd.

The debate centers on California housing laws, including SB 9 and SB 1123, which can allow developers to build up to 10 housing units, as high as three stories, on a single residential lot.

Residents warned that increased density could strain water supplies, electrical infrastructure, parking and evacuation routes while permanently changing the character of Altadena.

“We are a single-family residential community who lost everything and now we’re losing our community,” one resident said during public testimony.

Another speaker called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to intervene.

“You got to push Newsom to do something,” the resident said. “We need more from him.”

The meeting’s primary focus was Senate Bill 1090, known as the “Keep Altadena Land in Altadena Hands Act,” introduced by State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez. 

The proposal would create a five-year moratorium on state density laws such as SB 9 and SB 1123 in designated Altadena ZIP codes, aiming to protect fire-damaged properties from outside corporate real estate speculators.

Despite the intense discussion, the Altadena Town Council did not vote on the measure or take an official position during the Tuesday meeting.

Council Chair Nick Arnzen said members would consider public feedback before deciding their stance in the coming days.

Questions were also raised about whether the projects being proposed would actually create affordable housing.

“My question is, are these developers really building affordable ‘starter’ homes?” Kamala Almanzar said. “Altadena families will be priced out and we will look like and feel like West LA.”

Kenneth McPheeters criticized what he viewed as a lack of planning for rebuilding after the fire.

“When we burned up, maybe they should have had a plan put together so people could build homes in some kind of conformity,” he  said.

One project discussed during the meeting involves a property on Punahou Street that is being marketed with approved plans for a multi-unit development alongside a small single-family home.

The county has already voided more than a dozen applications submitted under SB 1123, finding that the law only applies in built out areas.