Santa Anita Realty Enterprises won a long-awaited victory late Wednesday as the City Council tentatively granted a commercial land-use designation for an area that could serve as the site of a major entertainment center.
The Arcadia City Council unanimously decided to allow music and entertainment events at the 320-acre Santa Anita Park on 30 days over the next year as part of a pilot program. Events can be scheduled for weekdays from 9 AM to 6 PM and on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 AM to 11 PM.
Concerns about a proposed entertainment complex next to Santa Anita Park race track have been expressed by representatives of three stores in the Santa Anita Fashion Park.
Santa Anita Companies have submitted a down-scaled entertainment complex with the new proposal for developing the South parking lot of the Santa Anita Park race track property.
Citizen input is sought on the proposed Santa Anita Commercial Center. The current proposal is 1/3 the size of the initial package presented in 1996 and would be built on 60 acres of what is now the south parking lot of Santa Anita Park.
City officials met with new Santa Anita Park owner Frank Stronach to discuss his plans for the race track. He wants to build a retail and entertainment village and an interactive horse racing theme park.
In a major retreat from its campaign to develop land south of the Santa Anita Park race track, Santa Anita Realty Enterprises has withdrawn its application to build a $300 million entertainment complex.
Santa Anita Park has been purchased by Frank Stronach for $126 million through MI Development, the real estate, entertainment unit of Magna International Inc., Canada's largest auto-parts manufacturer, of which Stronach is chairman.
City Council voted 5-0 to place the controversial ballot measure to restrict development at Santa Anita Park race track before voters in the November presidential campaign.
A Los Angeles preservation group that protested Arcadia's approval of construction at Santa Anita Park has demanded the city halt the project until a full environmental review is done.
Officials with the Santa Anita Companies, owners of the race track and Santa Anita Fashion Park, have filed a formal application with the City of Arcadia to build a new 100-acre entertainment center on its property.