Creative Housing Options in Arcadia (CHOA). Local efforts to address the lack of affordable housing and homelessness. On Saturday, April 20, 2024, a group of about 30 community members met at The Hills Church in Arcadia for a 2-hour "Sharing Session" to learn about what is being done in the city to address these issues. Safe Parking Programs were discussed. Arcadia City Council member Eileen L. Wang and Arcadia Mayor April Verlato attended.
Arcadia police report military equipment use, seek drone in the 2024-2025 budget. Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are instrumental in enhancing response times to calls, aiding in the investigation of criminal activities, and providing aerial perspectives that can assist in protecting life and property, the report states.
Los Angeles County Arboretum selects new CEO, Michael Desplaines. He has more than two decades of experience in historic property development and restoration, public garden management, environmental education and fundraising. He begins in July. He previously served as president and CEO of the Norfolk Botanical Garden in Virginia. He replaces Richard Schulhof, who retired after 14 years as CEO.
Arcadia Unified School District continues decades-long advocacy for fair funding from the state. A dozen delegates from Arcadia went to Sacramento for the California State Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Legislation Conference, where they discussed key issues in public education, such as funding for mental health resources and arts programs, continued budget cuts and more. Arcadia High School student delegates Isaac Offstein, Joya Sarkar and Chloe Wong, met with State Senator Susan Rubio (D-49), State Senator Anthony Portantio (D-25) and Assemblyman Mike Fong (AD-49).
Westfield Santa Anita mall sells for $537.5 million to an undisclosed buyer. The property at 400 South Baldwin Avenue and now known as The Shops at Santa Anita, is 1.48 million s.f. and nearly 100% leased. French-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), which has owned and operated the mall since 2007, has been selling off big-name mall properties in Southern California. IKEA Arcadia will open at the mall bringing a smaller version of IKEA with its design studio concept.
Property values continue to grow in Los Angeles County. The record breaking uptick is the region's 12th consecutive yearly increase. Los Angeles County's total assessed property value for 2022 grew by a record $122 billion, boosting it to $1.89 trillion. Arcadia and Cerritos saw the smallest annual increase, with total assessed property values in both cities rising 4%.
Arcadia Methodist Hospital set to announce partnership with USC. Bryan Green (or Brian Green) will discuss the hospital's new partnership with USC at the Arcadia Community Coordinating Council meeting on April 4. Includes biographical information on Green.
Anita Baldwin statue to be unveiled at Le Méridien Hotel in Arcadia
The Anita May Baldwin statue at the Le Méridien Hotel will be unveiled on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 at 11 a.m. Anita is the daughter of city founder, Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin. The statue will be featured on the opposite end of the Huntington Drive islands’ hotel property.
“We are very excited to be bringing Anita back to Arcadia,” said Mayor Sho Tay in a statement released by the city. “I would like to thank the Shen, Liu and Chen Families, Jeff Lee, the Dextra Baldwin McGonagle Foundation, Heather D. Gibson and Margaux L. Gibson, and the Arcadia Historical Society, for their generous donations.”
“On behalf of the Baldwin family, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Arcadia City Council, the Arcadia Historical Society, the Le Méridien Hotel and all those who have supported this effort to pay homage to my great-great grandmother, Anita May Baldwin,” said Margaux Gibson. “This magnificent statue of Anita will showcase a strong woman who was ahead of her time. I am proud to call Anita May Baldwin my great-great grandmother, and I am truly proud to be a part of this historic project.”
The Anita statue was sculpted by local artist and southern California native Alfred Paredes — who created the Lucky Baldwin statue on the corner of Huntington Drive and Holly Avenue — and is aptly named, “A Legacy of Charity” in honor of Anita’s contributions to life in early Arcadia and throughout California.
Updated homeless ordinance in Arcadia raises more questions than answers. Arcadia installs 65 "No Camping" signs within city limits. The anti-camping ordinance, updated in 2021, makes accommodations for people experiencing homelessness that are camping by necessity, but does so in a way that is consistent with case law and includes restrictions on where, when and in what manner camping is allowed on public property.
Mayors ask for zoning bill veto. 27 San Gabriel Valley cities urge Governor Gavin Newsom to kill legislation that changes single-family lots to allow zoning for up to 4 units. This is Senate Bill 9, introduced by Senator Toni Atkins. The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments advocates for addressing the affordable housing shortage by rezoning vacant and nonviable commercial properties and providing incentives to affordable housing developers to build on that land. SGVCG's letter in opposition was signed by Alhambra, Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bradbury, and others.
In Norwalk, District Attorney George Gascón gets vote of no confidence, along with 18 other cities, including Arcadia. Complaints directed at embattled DA continue to grow in Los Angeles County and a campaign to recall him is underway.
Arcadia Unified teachers share what learning looks like in a pandemic. Karalee Nakatsuka, 8th grade history teacher at First Avenue Middle School, discusses remote learning during COVID-19.
Effort underway by Arcadia resident and environmentalist Cameron Stone to save historic Adams Pack Station after Bobcat Fire destroyed 15 of the 100-year-old cabins in Big Santa Anita Canyon above Arcadia.
Arcadia Library presents Japanese Artist's Journey. The life and legacy of artist J.T. Sata will be the subject of a virtual program on October 10, presented by Arcadia Public Library in partnership with Japanese American National Museum. The book J.T. Sata: a Japanese Immigrant in Search of Western Art will be discussed by authors Frank Sata (son of J.T. Sata) and Naomi Hirahara. (J.T. Sata and family were imprisoned at Santa Anita Assembly Center during World War II).
Santa Anita Park looking for a brighter future. When Aidan Butler, Executive Director of California Racing Operations for The Stronach Group took over at Santa Anita about a year ago, he couldn't have envisioned the road blocks his first year--heavy rains that postponed opening day, the COVID-19 pandemic, recent brush fires that forced the fall meet to be postponed. He discusses the difficulties this year, the new turf chute and the future.
County Assessor reports solid growth for Arcadia in 2020 Assessment Roll. The Roll for 2020 has been closed and it reflects solid growth for Arcadia and the rest of the County. However, the Roll is pre-COVID. This comprehensive tally values more than 2.5 million real estate parcels in Los Angeles County and results in the very tax dollars that goes to pay for vital public services, such as healthcare, police, fire, schools, and even librarians, to name just a few. The County Assessor is constitutionally mandated to close the roll by the end of the Fiscal Year on June 30. The 2020 Assessment Roll has a total net value of $1.7 trillion, indicating the 10th year of consecutive growth. That value places $17 billion in the hands of the County to be used for those public services I just mentioned. This year the Roll has an added dynamic, the COVID-19 pandemic. Locally, Arcadia for 2020 came in at $18.3 billion for taxable values, which is a 4.4% increase over last year’s numbers. That includes 14,854 single-family homes, 809 apartment complexes, 995 commercial-industrial parcels for a grand total of 16,658 taxable properties. Growth is steady in Arcadia.
More importantly, that $18.3 billion translates into about $183 million for vital public services such as public safety, healthcare and public education that benefits Arcadia.
City of Arcadia receives over $1.5 million in annual revenue from Santa Anita Park, according to a report from Keyser Marston Associates, which was commissioned for the city's Economic Development Division. Over the next five years, the racetrack is estimated to generate $7.5 million in sales tax, pari-mutuel revenue and property tax. According to the report submitted in the fourth quarter of 2019, Santa Anita Park is responsible for 1,160 jobs annually.
Arcadia's Senior Economic Development Analyst Tim Schwehr to discuss growth in the city at Arcadia Community Coordinating Council on February 3 at Church of the Good Shepherd, 400 West Duarte Road.
A tale of two cities: Arcadia and bygone Arcadia. Noted historians Carol Libby and Sandy Snider slighted by longtime Councilman Roger Chandler's remarks about Anoakia, Anita Baldwin's mansion, and the historic preservation issue. See hard copy in VF City Council 2010-2019