Tiny homes opponents appeal for reduction of Foothill Unity Center’s homeless services. Opponents protested outside Arcadia Councilmember April Verlato's home.
Arcadia officials attempt to expand dialogue around homelessness. Arcadia homeowners are concerned that increased homelessness numbers within the city pose a threat to their children and property values. Arcadia City Council's idea to install 15 or so tiny homes as emergency shelter for unhoused people is being discussed.
The Board of Supervisors has approved a request from the County Department of Public Works to take over jurisdiction on the project to seismically retrofit transit bridges on Colorado Boulevard and Huntington Drive/Second Avenue. The board declared the portion of Colorado Boulevard under the bridge, as well as portions of Huntington Drive and Second Avenue under the transit bridge, to be part of the county system of roads and highways.
Proposed two-story home at 1101 S. Fifth Avenue causes kerfuffle. At this week's Arcadia City Council meeting, the project's neighbors appealed the Planning Commission's decision to approve the design of the 3588 s.f. house. Neighbors complain of loss of light and privacy. In a 3-2 vote, the Planning Commission's decision was upheld on the conditions that the owner remove windows on the north and south sides of the second floor.
Arcadia City Council urges citizens to help with voter fraud investigation and City Attorney Stephen Dietsch provided direction on the city's efforts to investigate several allegations against Mayor Pro Tempore Sho Tay and Dietsch explained the Ralph M. Brown Act.
The Arcadia City Council will oppose attempts by El Monte to annex a strip of uninhabited Arcadia land located between Peck Road and the San Gabriel River.
Arcadia City Council delays vote on Arcadia Highlands home building projects. Council will address the matter again on February 3, to allow for more time to vet newly received petitions from area residents and a detailed letter from an attorney representing a leading opponent of the developments, that the City received last week. Both projects, one at 1600 Highland Oaks Drive, the other at 29 East Orange Grove Avenue, and both designed by Robert Tong of Arcadia-based Sanyao International Inc., involve the demolition of vintage homes to make room for larger residences.
Los Angeles County's 2017 homelessness count has gone up 23% from the previous year and District 5, where Arcadia, Monrovia and Pasadena lie, has exceeded the county high at 30%. Measure H funds from a 1/4 cent sales tax increase in Los Angeles County, creates estimated $355 million per year to use on homeless initiative. Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted on how to properly allocate over a billion dollars from Measure H to help prevent and combat homelessness.
Ground was broken Friday for Arcadia's newest office building, the Arcadia Executive Plaza, on the triangular site bounded by Colorado Boulevard and Colorado Place, immediately east of Santa Anita Park race track.
City of Arcadia to update Recreation and Park Master Plan. Seeking resident input. The last update was 2007. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 4, June 4, 2015.
Arcadia City Council does not pursue ballot iniative on home building rules. As the city's effort to update the zoning code continues into the new year, the Arcadia City Council briefly considered sponsoring its own voter initiative to rival a measure from residents that is currently the subject of a petition to qualify for an upcoming election ballot, but City Council decided against pursuing its own ballot iniative because the petition process would not conclude in time to qualify for the April ballot.
Arcadia Recreation Commission members recently decided they were in favor of a project at Bonita Park at Huntington Drive and Second Avenue but felt the $78,000 estimated cost was too high.
A many as 60 of the trees on Orange Grove Ave., the "county road" running from Michillinda Blvd. to Santa Anita Ave., could be endangered by a proposed road-widening project currently under consideration by Arcadia and Sierra Madre. The street would be widened from 30 to 36 ft. since the street is considered too narrow for the trash bins that residents often leave in the road, constituting a hazard.
The City Council has approved a contract with Keyser Marston Associates to analyze city housing projects, including senior housing on the Marketowne site on Las Tunas and another senior project at the Elite Westerner site on Colorado Street.
Veterans group and Arcadia Mayor April Verlato celebrate World War II veteran Jack McEwan's 100th birthday. He was a pilot on a B-17 bomber from 1942-1943.
Homeless forum in Arcadia spawns communication and compassion. It was held at the Performing Arts Center and designed to provide information on homelessness in Arcadia and giving community members a chance to share ideas and concerns. The Homelessness Resource Hub, now closed, had been offering services such as showers, laundry, free WiFi, charging stations, food, clothing, case management, and more at the city's PAR 3 Golf Course parking lot.