A draft ordinance has been submitted to the City Council that would allow Arcadia residents to conduct businesses out of their homes if certain criteria are met and a permit is approved. According to current law, such businesses are illegal.
Mayor Bob Margett, in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce, suggested that the city start checking up on businesses operating out of homes within the city.
The possibility of a fee for admission to both the Arboretum and Descanso Gardens is being considered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. At a hearing, Hal Roach, a member of the Board of Governors expressed the hope that the Supervisors would not resort to charging a fee. The fee would NOT be used to keep up the Arboretum, but would go into the County General Fund.
Marquee West use permit: new hurdle. Operators of the Marquee West teenage night club at 30 S. First Avenue will face a new hurdle when Planning Commission will reconsider the conditional use permit under which the center operates. The staff recommendation will be to revoke the permit, "due to the inability to control irresponsible behavior and the apparent inability of Marquee West to comply fully with all the conditions of the permit." See hard copy of newspaper in Box 51.
The City Council has turned down Bob Margett's request to build a skate board park with 60 person capacity on Live Oak Avenue. Noise and congestion were the reasons given.
Article gives distribution to cities and counties of state cigarette, "in-lieu" motor vehicle license fees, and highway users tax. Arcadia received $17,778 of the cigarette tax, and $44,798 of the other fees.
A new defensive weapon which shoots darts capable of inflicting 50,000 volts of electricity lasting about a micro-second is being manufactured in Arcadia. It is being marketed by Glen Mead and is called the Taser Gun.
Three city-owned lots at 521 N. First Avenue, adjacent to the Foothill Freeway, were sold last week by the Arcadia City Council to the W. D. Wilson Co., which will construct a building on the site and move from its present location in South Pasadena. James J. Melas, president of the W. D. Wilson Co. and an Arcadia resident said his firm deals in sophisticated biomedical supplies and unusual alloys and fittings for medical instruments. Selling price was $41,500. The city originally purchased the lots from the state Department of Highways for $33,000.
The April apportionment of the cigarette tax, highway users tax and "in-lieu" motor vehicle license fee has been distributed. Arcadia received $15,988, $34,441 and $76,778 respectively.
The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Control, which has licensing responsibility in Arcadia, has increased its fees from $2.50 to $3.50 for spayed dogs and from $5.00 to $7.00 for non-spayed animals.
The Planning Commission and ultimately the City Council are going to have a very difficult time prohibiting further lot splits in areas where splits were OK'd before the present laws limiting this practice.
Enormous cut backs, reduced operating hours, and admission fees are all being contemplated as solutions to keeping the Arboretum going in the face of Proposition 13 caused revenue losses.