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RESOLUTION NO. 3853
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA,
EXPRESSING OPPOSITION TO NIGHTTIME
HORSE RACING.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, DOES
DETERMINE AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That for more than a quarter of a century
thqroughbred horse racing has been conducted during the daytime at
Santa Anita Race Track within the City of Arcadia and for some years
harness horse racing has been conducted during the daytime at said
Santa Anita Race Track.
SECTION 2. That the Santa Anita Race Track is surrounded
by the Arcadia City Hall and Police Station, the National Guard Armory,
the Methodist HosPital, a few motels and restaurants, and a very high
class residential area. That for the most part said improvements were
constructed after the commencement of daytime thoroughbred horse
racing at Santa Anita Race Track, and living habits of the residents
of the area, the design of city streets and local traffic patterns
have all been adapted to seasons of daytime racing. That despite the
fact that the static population of this City is doubled in a matter
of hours on racing days, the City administration, law enforcement and
the people of the community, with the excellent cooperation of the
officials of the Los Angeles Turf Club, have reduced to the barest
minimum the traffic and social problems resulting from a sudden influx
of people and automobiles into this community on the days of thorough-
bred horse racing and harness horse racing.
SECTION 3. That the conduct of night racing in any form
whatsoever will disrupt the peace and quiet of the residential neighbor-
hood which nearly surrounds Santa Anita Race Track, and will cause un-
precedente~ traffic congestion and problems at night. That the street
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system and traffic control devices, though reasonably adequate to
handle daytime crowds, will be inadequate to cope with the problems
resulting from the influx of people and automobiles attending night-
time racing. That hundreds of traffic enforcement personnel are
assigned both by this City and neighboring communities to assist the
orderly flow of the unusually heavy traffic on racing days. That such
added manpower together with mechanical traffic control devices handle
the traffic volume with reasonable adequacy. That additional manpower
is inadequate to handle similar traffic volumes at nighttime, as manual
direction of nighttime traffic in many instances serves only to con-
fuse rather than to assist the traveling public, and it is physically
impractical and financially unfeasible to substitute additional
mechanical traffic regulation for heavy volumes of nighttime traffic
on a seasonal basis.
SECTION 4. That for the foregoing reasons the City Council
of the City of Arcadia, on behalf of the city administration and the
residents and property owners by it represented, does hereby express
its absolute and unwavering opposition to the permitting of any type
of racing after dark, and particularly to the permitting of nighttime
horse racing or harness horse racing anywhere in the State of Cali-
fornia, realizing that if nighttime horse racing be permitted else-
where, it must inevitably and eventually be permitted in the City of
Arcadia with the disastrous and detrimental effects hereinbefore out-
lined. That pari-mutuel wagering has resulted in countless millions
of dollars in revenue to the State of California. That horse racing
and particularly pari-mutuel betting is at best condoned rather than
approved by a large segment of the populace and the permitting of
nighttime racing will add justifiable cause of objection to racing and
lawful wagering, thereby threatening and jeopardizing the continuation
of daytime racing and pari-mutuel wagering as historically conducted
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within the state. That this City Council does therefore urge the
legislature of the state of California to promptly disapprove any
measure the effect of which will be to permit horse racing or harness
horse racing after dark anywhere in the state of California.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of
this resolution and shall cause a certified copy hereof forthwith to
be forwarded to the Honorable Edmund G. Brown, Governor of the State
of California, and to the Los Angeles County Division of the League
of California Cities, urging said Division and the respective cities
represented thereby to take similar action.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing resolution was adopted
at an adjourned regular meeting of the City Council of the City of
Arcadia held on the 15th day of
February
, 1966, by the affirma-
tive vote of at least three Councilmen, to wit:
AYES: Councilmen Balser, Considine, Forman, Turner and Reibold
NOES: None
ABSENT:
None
k2-tf,~f/ d. L~ _
City lerk of the City of Arcadia-
SIGNED AND APPROVED this
day of
, 1966.
of
~:Z~~ [~
City Clerk
( SEAL)
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