After a 13-hour meeting, Arcadia City Council voted unanimously to approve the outdoor mall to be built on the Santa Anita Park race track parking lot, a development known as The Shops at Santa Anita. Opponents may push a referendum and possibly file lawsuits to block the project.
Although the Arcadia Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve The Shops at Santa Anita mall project, oppositon group members felt unfairly represented at Monday's meeting. A continuation meeting took place on Wednesday and 100 people attended. The public will get to comment again on April 11 at the Masonic Center.
Arcadia City Council gives Westfield Santa Anita mall the okay to host dance studios, car washes, auto detailers, and chair massages, in an effort to attract new tenants and customers. Council members also indicated that they support the concept of a medical office building on Santa Anita Park property.
Arcadia City Council voted unanimously to give the final approval on Rick Caruso's The Shops at Santa Anita mall. The City Council also approved an expansion project for the Westfield mall with one condition.
Arcadia Firefighters Association endorses The Shops at Santa Anita mall proposed by developer Caruso Affiliated. The proposal includes improvements to city streets and technology that should improve traffic flow.
Arcadia First!, a group opposing the Caruso mall project, is made up mostly of residents and business owners but bankrolled by Westfield Corporation. Arcadia First's revenues and expenditures are revealed in this article.
Arcadia officials will meet with Santa Anita Park's majority owner Frank Stronach, to talk about the mall project that fell through with Caruso Affiliated, and to see if Stronach still envisions a high end retail project to develop on the track parking lot.
Arcadia's neighboring cities of San Marino and Pasadena are worried about the impact of mall traffic. Caruso spokesperson Julie Wong says the developer is listening and will respond to all concerns as part of the environmental review process.
The Arcadia Unified school board has agreed to terms with mall developer Rick Caruso, who is offering free office space to the district inside his proposed Shops at Santa Anita. Caruso is offering 22,000 square feet of office space, plus 88 dedicated parking spots, for 40 years, at no charge.
Arcadia voters will decide on ballot Measure I, Measure N, and Measure P on November 7, 2006. Measure N has to do with billboard-type signs. Measure I calls for residents to finance a bond if the district wants to erect new buildings for public schools. Measure P has to do with charging for parking at The Shops at Santa Anita.
As ordered by the Los Angeles Superior Court, Arcadia city officials were expected to finalize the repeal of all approvals related to the Shops at Santa Anita mall project and the decertification of the environmental impact report (EIR). Jason Kruckeberg, Development Services Director for the City of Arcadia, said city officials are just starting the potentially year-long process of fixing the 11 faulty areas of the EIR. City officials have begun talks with CalTrans and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts asking for their cooperation in fleshing out traffic and sewage studies.
Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach, who is about to become the sole owner of Santa Anita Park, said he hasn't ruled out talking to developer Rick Caruso about reviving a project to build an outdoor mall in the race track's parking lot. Last week Caruso announced that he is no longer pursuing a development deal with Santa Anita Park's outgoing owner, MI Developments, Inc. (MID), for the upscale Shops at Santa Anita. Stronach is the outgoing chairman of MID.
Caruso Affiliated's proposed mall, The Shops at Santa Anita, may be hit with a second lawsuit. Anti-development group Arcadia First! said it will sue on the grounds that the environmental impacts of the project have not been fully addressed. The suit will make a ballot referendum unnecessary.
Caruso Affiliated will give Arcadia $2 million in development fees and receive assurances from the city under the terms of a 63-page draft agreement released Friday. The agreement gives Caruso the assurance they can build what is approved. Caruso must dedicate a portion of the parking lot for City Hall to construct a water well. This was the topic of recent controversial closed session meetings held by City Council.
Caruso and Westfield are still battling over the proposed Caruso lifestyle center. A decade ago the race track's south parking lot had been rezoned for commercial development. Rick Caruso feels his development will help Westfield while Westfield believes a new mall will cannibalize tenants and harm both companies and the city's sales tax revenues.
City council members refute charges that they met in private with a developer and property owner. Arcadia councilman Bob Harbicht said council did not meet in closed sessions, but met only with city staff to discuss land located in the parking lot of Santa Anita Park. The Council has never met privately with Caruso Affiliated or Magna Entertainment.