As state housing policy encourages bigger buildings with more units to help reduce steadily inflating rents, a second large development is planned on Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia.
A divided City Council last month voted 3-2 for the 359-unit, mixed-use Alexan Arroyo in the thoroughfare’s north 300 block that has drawn opposition from residents concerned about vehicle parking and the building’s proposed 90-foot height. City law caps building height at 60 feet.
In May 2024 construction began on the mixed-use Alexan Azalea, which calls for 319 apartments, including 26 affordable units at 150 N. Santa Anita.
According to a city statement, with median home prices topping $1.3 million, Arcadia has become increasingly out of reach for many people who work in the city’s schools, restaurants, shops and service businesses. Officials hope large-scale development will make the city a more affordable place to live.
Throughout the the past several years new laws aimed at creating more affordable housing throughout California provide developers with incentives, concessions and exemptions from local zoning codes. Under the Density Bonus Law, developers can build up to 50% more units than what local zoning allows, depending on the housing type and its affordability. Other concessions include smaller setbacks, increased building heights, less parking requirements, and other flexibility that lowers project costs and makes development more profitable.
Officials said the Alexan Arroyo project calls for 14% affordable units for very low income households. The developer Positive Investments Inc. is using a concession that allows all 35 affordable units to be studios, which deviates from the city’s policy requiring a building’s affordable units to have the same mix of bedrooms as market-rate residences.
The more than 30-foot height allowance enables the developer to maximize the number of units offered, city officials said.
“Importantly, this project helps focus taller, higher-density development in Arcadia’s downtown, along major transit lines, retail, and commercial corridors,” according to a city statement. “Affordable housing is a high need in Arcadia, and the Density Bonus process is one of the tools that helps make it possible. City leaders are committed to keeping Arcadia an attainable, welcoming, and diverse “community of homes” now and in the future.”
Seven residents spoke at the Nov. 18 public hearing on the project, all of whom opposed the project over concerns that included the significant height increase.
In their statement, city officials said, “In rare instances, cities may attempt to deny a project when there is strong evidence that the project would cause a serious and unavoidable risk to public health, safety, the environment, or a historic place. Under both the Density Bonus Law and the Housing Accountability Act, cities are not allowed to deny or shrink qualifying housing projects due to local opposition or subjective opinions.”
Mayor Pro Tem Eileen Wang urged Positive Investments Inc. to try to reduce the height and said she would like to avoid the heights and building density of residential buildings in neighboring Monrovia and Duarte.
“I want to urge the developer try your best to reduce your height to meet the (city’s) General Plan. … Don’t just think about the personal interests of your developer, or landlord or buyer or builders, ” Wang said at the Nov. 18 hearing.
Other approved projects in Arcadia are listed on the city’s website.