The 49-year-old Anoakia School, facing a June deadline for relocation, has opted for local print advertising. Owner Lowry McCaslin apparently wants to develop the property at Foothill Blvd. and Baldwin Ave. However, the school also has numerous city fire code violations and a building that is not up to seismic standards. The school currently has 279 students from K-8th grade.
Arcadia Fire Chief Gerald Gardner says his department will recommend Anoakia School not be allowed to reopen this fall if safety deficiencies are not fixed. School owner Lowry McCaslin vows that everything will be taken care of.
Lowery McCaslin, owner of Anoakia, has asked that his application for a general plan change for the property be withdrawn. He has been working with a local builder who has a good feel for the area and would like to develop the property at a density of 2.4 homes per acre. Late in this same meeting, the council voted to change the zoning on the estate to match the existing general plan. What this might do to future McCaslin plans is not clear.
Anoakia School plans to relocate to another city. The Fire Department has cited the school with many violations in the past year. Last month the Department closed a group of 10 classrooms for being unsafe.
Battle lines seem to be drawn between the residents of the area, who want 0-2 dwelling units per acre as the general plan calls for, and owner Lowery McCaslin, who would like 0-4.
Arcadia Planning Commission has approved a zone change for the Anoakia property from R-O 30,000 to R-O and D 22,000. The zone change will allow owner Lowrey McCaslin to develop the 19.13 acre site with 29 to 32 homes instead of 23.
Opposing forces are preparing for the March 1 City Council meeting. At this time the Council will decide whether to permit Mr. McCaslin to develop the area in lots of 18,000 to 20,000 square feet and keep the mansion, or to hold him to the 30,000 square feet set by the Planning Commission and risk losing the house built by Anita Baldwin.
The hearing by the Planning Commission on the Anoakia property has been put off until a later date. Some specifics of what Mr. McCaslin will seek when the hearing is scheduled are given.
"Unique Alumni Group Welcomes Former Baldwin Era Residents" by Helen Schrader. Ernest Schultz and his twin sisters Freda Schultz and Hilda Schultz, who were residents of early Arcadia and former students of the little school at the corner of Huntington Drive and Santa Anita, reunite and talk about life and schools in the early 1900s, including Arcadia's first school in the old packing house on the Baldwin Ranch. They recalled that the eighth grade teacher Miss Jeanette Said taught in English and Spanish since many students only spoke Spanish. News clipping. See also: Arcadia file "People," item number 2 clipping which includes a photo.
The Anoakia School, soon to be renamed the Anita Oaks School, won a victory against staunch opponents of the relocation when the Duarte City Council unanimously approved the move to property owned by New Life Assembly of God Church.
Residents have petitioned the Planning Commission to change the area's zoning from R-1 (7500 square feet) to R-O&D (30,000 square feet) because of fears that Mr. McCaslin, owner of Anoakia, may build too densely.
The Arcadia Christian School has leased the Santa Anita Elementary School which was closed due to declining enrollment. Article describes the school which expects 200 students this year ranging from pre-school through 8th grade.
Mr. McCaslin received a blow to his plan to subdivide the 20 acre parcel when the Planning Commission changed the zoning in the area from R-1 (7,500 square feet per unit) to R-O (30,000 square feet per unit).
About 200 Arcadia teachers marched outside prior to the Arcadia School Board meeting to protest what they called delays in negotiating a contract for the 1987-88 school year.
The Board of Education has approved a new after-school child care program to be conducted by the Santa Anita Family branch of the YMCA at the Holly Avenue Elementary School Youth Hut. About 20 children have been enrolled in the program, which can accommodate up to 35.
Public hearing on Anoakia-area zone change allows citizen input. Hearing is on a Planning Commission resolution recommending approval of a zone change from R-0 30,000 to R-0 30,000 and D for the Anoakia area. This means that residential lots must contain at least 30,000 square feet. The D stands for "design overlay," which gives the property owners' association an opportunity to review architectural plans for development.