Jul 24, 2008 5:04 pm US/Pacific
Judge Finds Study For Caruso Project Lacking
LOS ANGELES
An environmental impact report that the city of Arcadia relied upon in approving an upscale mall proposed by developer Rick Caruso will have to be revised for the project to move forward.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant, in a 59-page ruling issued Wednesday, found the EIR faulty in 11 areas ranging from traffic to air quality, but he stopped short of finding the study completely inadequate.
He also said the development agreement should have been discussed in the EIR, and the public should have had the chance to comment on it.
Chalfant directed the city to set aside its approval of the EIR and correct the deficiencies.
Attorneys were not immediately available for comment, nor was Caruso spokeswoman Linda Bozung.
In April 2007, the Arcadia City Council unanimously approved plans by Caruso Property Management to build an 830,000-square-foot outdoor mall in a parking lot of the Santa Anita racetrack.
The firm is headed by Caruso, a former Los Angeles police commissioner who developed The Grove in Los Angeles' Fairfax District and the recently opened Americana at Brand retail and residential center in Glendale.
Australia-based Westfield -- manager of Westfield Shoppingtown, which is next to the Caruso project -- filed a petition against the city of Arcadia and its city council in Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2007, alleging the EIR for the project was flawed.
Joining Westfield as plaintiffs were Santa Anita Shoppingtown, which leases the Shoppingtown property, and Santa Anita Fashion Park, the property owners. All three sought a court order directing the city to set aside its approval of the Caruso development until a more thorough environmental assessment is done.
Two days after the Westfield petition was filed, Arcadia First!, a grassroots community organization, filed its own legal challenge.
Chalfant heard arguments on May 23 and had the case under submission until Wednesday.
According to the Westfield suit, Caruso's plan calls for more than 16 buildings with architectural features as high as 85 feet. Two key components of the race track, which recently received federal historic designation, would have to be demolished, according to the suit.
The environmental study was flawed in its assessment of the impact of the project on parking, traffic, water and air quality, noise and aesthetics, the plaintiffs alleged.
According to the lawsuit, the environmental review also did not show whether Caruso is creating a project that will complement Westfield's Shoppingtown and the race track in accordance with the city's General Plan.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
