Arcadia Sets Guidelines for Review of Center Plans

The Arcadia City Council on Tuesday established review process guidelines for developing a controversial commercial center on the south parking lot of Santa Anita Park.

The “Memorandum of Understanding,” as the guidelines are called, may lay the foundation for a scaled-down version of the commercial center proposed for the site, said Tom Austin, vice president of Santa Anita Realty Enterprises.

Santa Anita’s original proposal for a 1.5-million-square-foot entertainment complex drew opposition from residents who feared that such a complex would increase traffic, noise and crime in the city.

Outrage was so profound that a citizens group put an initiative on the ballot in November that would have taken away the City Council’s power to change the park’s land use.

The initiative failed. Santa Anita’s proposal was reduced to one-third of its original size and the controversy may have quieted, said Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Harbicht.

“An awful lot of people are going to recognize the great deal of restraint” in the new proposal, said Harbicht, who said the council seems to lean in favor of the development.