Arcadia : Home Height Limit Lifted

The Arcadia City Council has eliminated a height requirement from its approval of a controversial development of 23 luxury homes on the last parcel of land that can be developed in the city’s foothills.

Initially the council voted 3 to 2 to allow owner Charles Bluth to proceed with the second phase of Whispering Pines Estates under the condition that homes on four of the highest lots be restricted to one story or 20 feet high.

At a later meeting the council reconsidered the single-story requirement, City Manager George Watts said. The vote changed to 4 to 1 in favor of the project when Councilman Dennis Lojeski, who had said he voted against the project earlier only because he objected to the height limit, voted for it. Council members Charles Gilb, David Hannah and Don Pellegrino voted for the project at both meetings and Mary Young voted against it.