Writer Richard P. McKee, a past president of Californians Aware, an open-government advocacy group, thinks Arcadia City Council closed session meetings about the "southerly parking area of the Santa Anita Park race track property" are suspect.
Stephen Deitsch, Arcadia's City Attorney, wants residents to know he has not taken a position on ballot Measure N or Measure P. Westfield Group has published campaign materials that might lead residents to believe Deitsch has taken a stance.
With construction nearly complete on the Arcadia Historical Museum, city officials are mulling possible litigation against the contractor because the $1 million project is three months behind schedule.
City council members refute charges that they met in private with a developer and property owner. Arcadia councilman Bob Harbicht said council did not meet in closed sessions, but met only with city staff to discuss land located in the parking lot of Santa Anita Park. The Council has never met privately with Caruso Affiliated or Magna Entertainment.
Caruso Affiliated will give Arcadia $2 million in development fees and receive assurances from the city under the terms of a 63-page draft agreement released Friday. The agreement gives Caruso the assurance they can build what is approved. Caruso must dedicate a portion of the parking lot for City Hall to construct a water well. This was the topic of recent controversial closed session meetings held by City Council.
Opponents of the proposed mall The Shops at Santa Anita have filed a complaint accusing the City Council of breaking open meeting laws. An attorney for Arcadia First! asked the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office to investigate whether negotiations between the city and developer Caruso Affiliated violated the Brown Act because they were held outside of public view.
The city council voted 4 to 1 in closed session not to accept Kare Youth League's offer of $2 million to purchase 1.5 acres of the Arcadia Par 3 Golf Course, which is owned by the city and is more than 20 acres in size. Councilman Gary Kovacic thinks the property is more valuable than Kare Youth League's offer.
The city has taken its first step toward condemning part of a desirable downtown block to make way for the expansion of the Rusnak Mercedes Benz. The City Council voted unanimously to move forward with eminent domain proceedings against Arcadia Self Storage, a four-story building on Huntington Drive just west of Santa Anita Avenue. This building is one of five under threat of condemnation.
The Arcadia City Council voted unanimously to impose a 45-day moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, known as pot clubs. There are no such dispensaries in the city nor have there been any applications. The moratorium will give the city time to study the issue and see what type of regulation would be appropriate to put in place in Arcadia. The concern is that pot clubs could draw an element to the community that increases crime. The Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215) legalized medical marijuana in California in 1996.
Westfield, Santa Anita Shoppingtown, and Santa Anita Fashion Park, are the three plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the City of Arcadia, the City Council, and developer Rick Caruso, aimed at stopping the new mall The Shops at Santa Anita. Plaintiffs allege the environmental study done was flawed. Assistant City Manager Don Penman said the study was the most thorough one he had ever seen.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined his proposed budget for the 2003-2004 fiscal year which begins July 1. The Arcadia City Council will hold a public hearing and is scheduled to adopt it at its June 17 meeting.
City staff projects a $3.5 million deficit in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, due in large part to rising retirement costs. City Manager Bill Kelly told City Council that even with the Caruso mall, expansion at Westfield Shoppingtown and at Rusnak auto dealership, the city still faces a budget shortfall in about 5 years. He suggested a library assessment district as a potential revenue source.
The Arcadia School Board after a two-hour closed session decided that Foothills Middle School music teacher Sandra Ragusa - who resigned but then quickly changed her mind - could not have her job back.
The city of Arcadia has kept its finances intact despite the budgetary troubles facing California, Mayor Gail Marshall said in her State of the City address delivered during the City Council Meeting on April 1. The article includes information on the Centennial commemorative flower. Nunccio's Nursery in Altadena created pink Arcadia Azaleas to mark the city's birthday.
Rick Caruso faces off with Westfield Group's Kenneth Wong at a City Council meeting. Some 350 Arcadia residents came to hear about the proposed expansion of Westfield Shoppingtown and Caruso's outdoor lifestyle center.
City Council quietly dropped eminent domain action against Rod's Grill. The city is working with the Church in Arcadia and Elks Lodge to buy their properties so that Rusnak Mercedes Benz might expand its business.