Sierra Madre and Arcadia engaged in water fight. Sierra Madre accused Arcadia of stealing water from a shared East Raymond Basin. Holly Whatley, Sierra Madre's assistant city attorney, said the California Supreme Court divided the east and west Raymond Basin in a 1944 judgment. Arcadia spent $2.8 million to build its Anoakia Well in 2001 and its Colorado Well in 2007. Hydrogeology expert Tim Thompson said although Arcadia's two wells reside on the eastern side, the wells actually draw ground water that originates from the West Raymond Basin. He said there is very little water traveling from the east and west basins because of a hydrogeological barrier, and a scientific look at the ground shows that Arcadia is taking adjudicated water from the West Raymond Basin. See hard copy in VF Water.
Arcadia City Council rejected a proposed draft resolution last week that several argued would give city-designated homeowner associations (HOA) too much power. During a study session, the Council discussed amending and consolidating the five HOAs' development standards, design guidelines and design review procedures into one cohesive document. Some argued the draft would give the associations' Architectural Review Boards (ARB)--which have architectural design review authority over the association area--too much control over the size of homes, setbacks and other issues. ARBs should look favorably on someone's dream home plans "unless it was so garish and outlandish that it might negatively affect property values," said Councilman Bob Harbicht. Opposition from Kevin Tomkins and Laurie Thompson.
Representative David Dreier (R-San Dimas) announced his nominees for U.S. military academies. From Arcadia, he has nominated Alex Wei Lee and Gregory Mak for the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO.; Patrick Chen, Alex Wei Lee and Casey Thompson for the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD.; Kenneth Moore to U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.
Rides are hard to find for seniors. Dial-a-Ride, meant for home-bound elderly, being misused shuttling school children. In 2014 consultant group IBI Group recommended three changes--new fixed routes for the general public, a shuttle service from the Metro Gold Line station to popular locations in the city, and a return to Dial-a-Ride service to seniors and disabled. The changes were planned to coincide with the Gold Line opening in march but after hearing concerns from students and parents, city officials agreed not to cut off the Dial-a-Ride service to the general public until the end of the school year.
Zoning codes: Arcadia measure on mansionization qualifies for ballot. If adopted the initiative would create a citywide floor area ratio (FAR) which would set much tighter restrictions on square footage. Lisa Mussenden said it could be on the ballot as soon as November 2016 or as late as April 2018. Saving Arcadia is the group behind the initiative.
Arcadia residents hoping to vote to curb home sizes. Groups want city to have a lot less 'mansionization' and are circulating a petition for a ballot initiative that aims to set square footage regulations for new residential development projects.
Birth-tourism sites not easily detected.Terry Moore-Corse, a code enforcement officer in Arcadia has encountered three maternity homes in the past six years, most recently in 2009, when a resident reported "a lot of pregnant women" coming out of a house. Beyond building code and business license violations, there is nothing illegal about coming into this country to give birth, according to the U.S. State Department, which issues visas. Maternity tourism is a money-making cottage industry in which wealthy women from Asia pay anywhere from $25,000-35,000 to have American-born infants.
Arcadia city officials are cracking down on "maternity tourism" boarding houses by dedicating a full-time police detective to investigate the issue. Maternity or birth tourism is a phenomenon in which women, often from China, pay a handsome fee to have their babies in the United States, so the children can be citizens. While that is not illegal, at least five establishments have been shut down for violations, such as unlawfully operating boarding house businesses in residential zones.
An ancient Chinese maternity tradition, from the Sung Dynasty (960-1275 AD), known as "Zuo Yue Zi," is translated as "doing the month."It refers to the care of a Chinese woman during the first month after giving birth. The practice is explained here by Wei-Chen Tung, a former registered nurse at Arcadia Methodist Hospital and now an assistant professor of nursing at University of Nevada, Reno. The practice requires new mothers to follow a strict diet and rest for 3-4 weeks following a pregnancy. Tung says a lot of Chinese women still practice this, so hospitals should be aware of this part of Chinese culture. Maternity tourists--women who want to come to the United States to give birth to a full-fledged American citizen, have given rise to businesses that cater to them, such as the maternity home that was shut down in the 1300 block of South Palm Avenue in San Gabriel on March 8. It had been 5 townhomes illegally converted into a maternity home.