[dragonsky]

City Council denies meeting allegations
By Kenneth Todd Ruiz Staff Writer

ARCADIA - Members of the City Council never met in private with a developer and property owner, city officials said Thursday.

Refuting allegations made by opponents of Caruso Affiliated's The Shops at Santa Anita, Councilman Bob Harbicht said the council did meet in closed sessions, but only with city staff to discuss land located in the parking lot of Santa Anita Park.

"The council has never met privately with Magna or Caruso," Harbicht said. "The only people in the closed sessions were council, city staff and the city attorney."

Council agendas published by the city list Caruso and racetrack owner Magna Entertainment Corp. among "Negotiating Parties" in regard to what is described as the "southerly parking area of Santa Anita Race Track."

The meetings, held in December and January, are believed to relate to a development agreement under negotiation between Caruso and the city in tandem with the

developer's proposal to build an 800,000-square-foot outdoor mall on property owned by Magna Entertainment Corp.

Westfield has been highly critical of - and has organized community resistance to - the project, which is proposed for a site adjacent to the Westfield mall on Baldwin Avenue.

The closed-session meetings prompted the spokeswoman of Arcadia First!, a Westfield- funded community group, to ask why Caruso and Magna representatives were involved.

Julie Wong, Caruso spokeswoman, said there's a simple explanation - they weren't.

"We never had anybody participate in these closed-session meetings," she said. "This is another example of Westfield misleading Arcadia residents with false accusations."

The council acted within the law by not including outsiders in the meetings, said Terry Francke, counsel for Californians Aware, an open-government advocacy group.

But the discussion could not have strayed from the specific price and terms of the land deal in question, Francke added, or extend to any other terms of the development agreement.

"When it says price or terms of payment, that's exactly what it means," he said, referring to the description published on the council agenda.

Douglas Carstens, a lawyer representing Arcadia First!, filed a complaint with the District Attorney's Office. The complaint is under review.