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View Winners → Ugly Side of Politics- A Letter Naming City Councilman Sho Tay Claims Arcadia Property Value Will Fall 30%
Arcadia Weekly Mar 11, 2016
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Photo by Terry Miller
By Terry Miller
Councilman Sho Tay is once again making news in Arcadia, this time not for offering to mail your ballots and giving you a stamp to boot…but by real scare tactics and possibly civil wrongdoing in a flyer.
Tay (or people he knows) is circulating the following flier today. He says “Please attend a presentation by city council at Santa Anita Inn, Friday.”
This is NOT a city council event and we have asked for comment from the mayor and various council members on this latest election tactic. We hope to post their comments later. Here is the text of the flyer:
“Dear Neighbor,
“Your house value may DROP 30%. According to the ‘NEW ZONING RECOMMENDATIONS’ that some of our City Council members are trying to pass on March 15, all houses including new and additions in Arcadia, will have to be 25%-48% smaller in size than what is currently allowed. Most realtors estimate that the property value will drop up to 30%. If your house needs to be rebuilt in the future, your land value will be very low since only smaller houses are allowed to be built on your land. If this is not acceptable, the city council would like to hear from you on 3/15 at 6PM. Please email to us at arcadia.residents@gmail.com if you want to sign a letter of objection. We (a group of Arcadia Resident Rights Protection neighbors) will help you express your concerns. If the City Council hears no objections, this will become a law after March 15. This is the official link to city zoning recommendations (see page 8): http://www.ci.arcadia.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=5906
“Please attend a presentation given by City Council, Sho Tay. (Private event) At Santa Anita Inn. 130 W Huntington Dr, Arcadia. March 11′ 7:30 PM or March 12” 10:00 AM.”
Please let us know your thoughts on this matter: tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
Sho Tay responded to our request for comment via email:
“I don’t know why you said I am ‘sending around Arcadia’, that was not my letter.
“A group of Chinese approached me after 2/22 public meeting ask me to explain to them in Chinese, and was wonder why city does not have the article in Chinese.
“Instead of having the City spending the money to print a Chinese version, I volunteer to do the ‘Translation’ for them.
“I have no opinion on the ‘recommendation’, if you know of someone that willing to volunteer their time to do the ‘translation’ please let me know.
“Thank you in advance.
“Sho.”
We also asked some candidates and local businessmen and women what they think of Mr. Tay’s latest flyer:
Andrew Cooper, CEO of Arcadia Realtors Association had this to say: “ The Arcadia Association of Realtors® has not made any official statement on the proposed zoning regulations. I have not personally seen the flyer, I’ve only read about the content online in your publication. While we respect everyone’s opinions on the matter I think it might not be entirely fair to say that “most” Realtors® think there will be a reduction in property values. Based on a survey of our 2300 plus members we know we have passionate Realtor® members on both sides of the issue and we absolutely respect that. While property value reductions may or may not be true I should make it clear that this organization has not been contacted nor made a statement in any official capacity regarding the flyer nor the zoning regulations. “
Andrew Cooper
Chief Executive Officer, CIPS
Candidate Burton Brink sent us this:
“We have a two councilmen (Tay and Chandler) who want to scare our residents into thinking that the rezoning will make us lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in our property values!
“The KPCC (89.3, local) radio station website (link below) published a story about this issue and it said, ‘City Council member Sho Tay said some people opposed to bigger homes might feel differently if they understood their purpose for these residents. Tay said many Asian families want bigger homes because they live with extended family, like parents and in-laws, under one roof.
‘It’s a lack of understanding,’ Tay said. ‘I try to explain to people – you don’t want to kick them out your house and send them to an old folks’ home.’
http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/03/09/58367/arcadia-residents-battle-over-mansionization/
“I took care of both of my parents before they passed away. I took care of them in our home, where they lived from 1967, until their passing in 2011 and 2013. We didn’t put them in an ”old folks home” and we didn’t need a bigger house to care for them. The notion of having a “bigger home” because some, want to live with their extended families, does not mean building a home that rivals a motel.
“The population of Arcadia is 60% Asian, which means that 40% are from other cultures/ethnicities. The United States and the City of Arcadia, was built on a melting pot of foreigners (and cultures) who came together to better our community and each other. Families come here to raise their children, afford them the opportunity to attend great schools and live cohesively. Mr. Tay makes it clear, that Arcadia needs to ‘change’ to accommodate a specific group of residents in the city. We can all live here and work together to build relationships the way America and Arcadia was meant to be, not turn it into another country.
“Mr. Tay says he doesn’t have anything to do with the flyers; ‘I don’t know why you say I am sending around Arcadia.’ However, the flyers depict HIS name and title in the event. Council Member Tay said ‘instead of having the City spending the money to print Chinese version, I volunteer to do the “Translation” for them.’ My question would be, is he offering a translator for English-only speakers at his ‘(Private event)’?
“The flyer says ‘most realtors estimate that the property value will drop up to 30%.’ Really? Who are MOST of these realtors? I have spoken to trusted realtors in Arcadia, who have assured me, property values will NOT ‘drop’ if the Zoning Review Committee Recommendations are approved. All the cities surrounding Arcadia have zoning codes in place and their property values have not depreciated. Why would ours?
“Although Mr. Tay claims he has nothing to do with the ‘flyers’ being circulated, the flyers are clear that the event is being presented by Mr. Tay. ‘Please attend a presentation given by City Council, Sho Tay. (Private event) At Santa Anita Inn. 130 W Huntington Dr, Arcadia. March 11’7:30 PM or March 12 10:00 AM [sic].”
Additionally, we contacted “Arcadia Residents Group” for comment. Here’s what they added to the mix:
“We are a group of Arcadia residents with concern that the future of our city will be hurt by this unreasonable zoning code changes. We received a lots of emails expressing the same concern after we shared the details of this zoning code changes to our neighbors. Lots of them have never received any information from the city about these changes and they were very surprised and asked why they were totally in the dark. We invited council member Sho Tay to our private event as a translator. We spell out that it is a private event in the flyer. Our question to you is: why our action and intention of protecting the future of the city is being called “Ugly Side of Politics”??? Please comment on that.
“Regards,
“A group of residents who care about the future of our city.”
