Arcadia Planning Commission denies Marvin Fong's plan for a large development at 2236 Hollis Lane. The proposed project is 4 times larger than the existing property, which upset a grass roots group effort to prevent "mansionization."
Arcadia residents and ex-mayor Mickey Segal threaten to recall city council members Roger Chandler, John Wuo, and Sho Tay for their decision to suspend a zoning code update last month. The issue involves a lawsuit, Arcadia Highlands Homeowners Association (HOA) and mansions. See hard copy in VF "City Council 2011-2020."
Arcadia residents hoping to vote to curb home sizes. Groups want city to have a lot less 'mansionization' and are circulating a petition for a ballot initiative that aims to set square footage regulations for new residential development projects.
Arcadia settles building project lawsuit, paves the way to update residential zoning code and including Highland Oaks neighborhood in a citywide historic preservation survey.
Ballot initiative targeting large scale homes in Arcadia (often referred to as McMansions) will not make it on the ballot after all. The city clerk's office discovered a discrepancy in the number of qualifying signatures. Saving Arcadia is the local activist group behind the initiative.
Campaign to recall three Arcadia city council members begins. Highlands neighborhood residents have been at odds with Roger Chandler, Sho Tay, and John Wuo over the development of mansions in place of historic homes and the Gemcoin controversy with John Wuo.
The City Council considers adopting a floor area ratio (FAR) guideline for single family homes. The FAR sets the total buildable size of a home at a percntage figure of the lot size.
The City Council voted unanimously to expand design review for single-family homes citywide. It is the latest effort in the fight against boxy mansions being built in Arcadia. The review board thinks Asian families like the big houses and the Asian families say they do want to fit in with the community.
City lacks votes to adopt a temporary moratorium. Arcadia City Council will not consider a temporary moratorium on any stage of residential development because they don't have enough votes (4 are required) to pass the proposed ordinance. A moratorium would have initially been in place for 45 days, with an option to extend it, while the city updates its residential and commercial standards and conducts a historic preservation survey.
City to release first round of education campaign on Arcadia real estate rules and local zoning code in a forthcoming City newsletter. The campaign will include public meetings in November and an advisory committee comprised of Arcadia residents.
Construction begins on Anoakia luxury housing development, on the former site of Anoakia, Anita Baldwin's mansion, on the corner of Baldwin Avenue and Foothill Boulevard in Arcadia. The Anoakia Mansion was demolished last August to make way for 31 homes to be built by Hover Development Inc. of Newport Beach. Anita Baldwin, daughter of Lucky Baldwin, lived there until her death in 1939. It was used as a girls' school from 1941 to the late 1970s. The new housing development is 19 acres.
In a unanimous vote, Arcadia City Council deals a blow to builder KVH Design Group, rejecting the developer's appeal and their plans to build a nearly 7,000 square foot two-story single-family house at 211 Monte Place. The Highlands Homeowners Association (HOA) Architectural Review Board (ARB) had turned down the plans on grounds that the proposed home was "incompatible in mass and scale to the surrounding buildings in the neighborhood." Arcadia City Council agreed.
Mansionization vote soon. Officials say no to economic impact study (on how home size affects property value) amid update to city's zoning code. Opponents and proponents packed into City Council Chambers. Resident Lee Marshall said more stringent regulations (in building height, floor area ratio (FAR), setbacks, hillside standards) would add value to homes by encouraging more harmonious development. Resident Polly Wong said she built her dream home in Arcadia and the new recommendations might significantly hurt her investment. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 16, March 17, 2016 for "No economic study for zoning code changes."
New Arcadia city housing standards approved, new zoning codes effective as law May 20, 2016. Included in Arcadia's new standards is a sliding-scale floor-area ratio (FAR) for the first time in the city's history. The FAR is a development tool that helps determine how large a home can be built on any given lot based on a percentage of the land.
PAC contributes heavily to Bob Harbicht's campaign coffers: Nevis Capital, LLC named. Developer Jeff Lee says there is discrimination in Arcadia over his Highlands property and potential development.
The Planning Commission will be considering new regulations to better control construction of new or remodeled houses. Concerns over mansionization are being addressed.
Proposed two-story home at 1101 S. Fifth Avenue causes kerfuffle. At this week's Arcadia City Council meeting, the project's neighbors appealed the Planning Commission's decision to approve the design of the 3588 s.f. house. Neighbors complain of loss of light and privacy. In a 3-2 vote, the Planning Commission's decision was upheld on the conditions that the owner remove windows on the north and south sides of the second floor.
Real estate pros weigh in on Arcadia home size debate. Explains Arcadia residential land investment. Real estate professional Eric Rosa says big homes are not hurting real estate values and warns that the proposed ballot measure for April 12 to enact tougher limits on square footage, would be policy that can't be overturned by elected officials and would require a ballot initiative in 2018 to rescind voter-approved code amendments.
Residents fed up with the so-called "mansionization" of their neighborhood are proposing limits that would curb the proliferation of large houses on small lots.