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Super Arcade denied permit by the city council of Azusa by 3-1 vote

FZZ

Banned
I hate to be "that guy" but are cities like "Azusa" and "Walnut" famous enough to Americans that they can be talked about with no introduction, as in the OP? I was born and raised in the US, but had to Google to find out where they were.

And yes, that "pubic urination" as an excuse is pretty pathetic.

Nah both are pretty small cities. Walnut is actually really small.

But hey Walnut is 76th safest city in the US. Ayy
 
Did you think of putting in lottery slot machines? They are considered a type of legal donation devices... good way to generate additional incomes. Literally all the bingo shops nearby my house are just gambling hall.
No, those are regulated even more strictly here. Slots were illegal until a 2008 referendum legalized them, but only for large casinos. They are regulated by the state lottery commission.
 
Y'all singing the praises of Donut Man know what you're talking about. Great donuts, wish I went there more often.

I can't say that moving the arcade to Glendora is gonna happen, though. Glendora is another one of those cities that thinks highly of themselves.
 
How old are these council members? Thats likely the biggest deciding factor going into this as for a lot of older folks games are still "stop playing your pong and do your homework"
 

vulva

Member
How old are these council members? Thats likely the biggest deciding factor going into this as for a lot of older folks games are still "stop playing your pong and do your homework"

Nah, if you watch or read on what happened last night you'd see that the issue currently has nothing to do with the content or patrons of the arcade but more of a vendetta gainst the landlord of the mall
 

joe2187

Banned
Disappointed at my old hometown. First they don't get the Portos that's heading to West Covina and then they deny Super Arcade.



Haha, tbf our old arcade back in the 90's next to the movie theater was kinda like that.

Yo what? Portos dropped out!?

What's gonna happen to the crazy horse now? are they seriously considering the strip club offer? that would be fucked.
 

Riposte

Member
Their brothers are on the police force too. The family is established for 100yrs+, so a lot of under the table and back handshakes are usually involved in local politic.
It is the norm of democracy...well, in any small town/local government.
Corruption will never die out in the human's heart.

If anything, "corruption" is the human heart. The impartiality democracy demands is inhuman, which is why it's hard to obtain.
 

Tripon

Member
Yo what? Portos dropped out!?

What's gonna happen to the crazy horse now? are they seriously considering the strip club offer? that would be fucked.
I would imagine strip club patrons are more likely to publicly unirate. But what do I know.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
So what is his plan, keep appealing? Has anyone tried to get funding going for him to either relocate or keep the appeal going?

Does that have any chance of success?
 

Makki

Member
I was fuming last night hearing the 2 goons on the right. Not only because as people in charge of their community they went into an appeal hearing with ZERO research into the matter they were about to discuss yet again, proven by how the lady had no damned clue where else to place the arcade and had the nerve to say she hadnt researched anything, but also because the pushover in the middle seemed more concerned with how much paperwork changing his mind about a denial of the permit caused instead of giving arguments why his decision to deny it was set on stone other than "I already said it on the last hearing". Not just that, but how he casually pushed off the burden onto the people below to solve the mess he was creating by simply giving a stubborn no with no discussion on the matter.

Bunch of idiots... my god, I was ready to rip my hair off every time the person on the right would say the place of application was not the right place for an arcade and give NOTHING, no good reason as to why this great business would not be able to change the face of the shithole they have created by their own ignorance. They did not defend for a second the counterarguments all the well spoken individuals brought up to the stand, instead there was only an admission of how incompetent these 2 goons have been about handling the mall issues within their city. Im sure the 100 year old witch and her neighbors REALLY want the mall to stay deserted for the good of Azusa! Right?
 

NewGame

Banned
This boring stuffy political video is made infinitely more interesting with a hyper scrolling twitch comments box in the corner.
 
Public urination is the only valid reason, but you have that with bars and libraries so yeah what the heck?
Also good news they got a permit at the end.
 

PillarEN

Member
Good job Azusa

tumblr_lldfafRnIy1qbd5hp.gif
 
So as Malls all over the US die off due to internet commerce, instead of re-purposing the space for a cool and potentially very popular business like this, the answer to this is to try and get some other retailers into malls.

The same retailers who are abandoning that business model.

OK.

I'd love to see the world through a bureaucrat's eyes. It must be so wonderful.
 
Hey, this is in the news again!

Arcade owner spent $80K to open in Azusa. Now the city is backing a bigger arcade across the street.

A small business owner who has been trying to bring an arcade to the city for more than a year is now concerned about a new multi-million dollar project -- with a bowling alley and an arcade -- that could be built right across the street.

The City Council on Monday approved a project for its long-vacant “Block 36” site. Following a lengthy public hearing, officials voted 3-2 to support a mixed-use development with a bowling alley and an arcade, and rejected a proposal for a similar development that included a Laemmle theater.

Now, Michael Watson, who has been trying to move his arcade to Azusa since last April, wonders how this new project could impact his business, provided he gets the final approval to open his doors. To date, he has spent about $80,000 to bring the 100-year-old building he hoped to move in to up to code.

He planned to open in October 2015. Seven months later, he said has no new target date in sight because new conditions from the city keep coming.

Six months after the license was granted, he said the city told him the building was seismically unsafe. An upgrade could cost around $150,000.

“The city could have given me a list of corrections in one bunch, but instead, they are doing it in increments,” he said.

But Community Development Director Kirk Christiansen said the delays are not the city’s fault.

“We have tried to facilitate this because we think there is a benefit to that kind of arcade in the downtown area, especially with the Gold Line,” he said. “If he says the city is holding him up, that’s news to me. I think it comes down to the owner and if he has the financial capital to do the upgrades to bring the building up to code.”

City Manager Troy Butzlaff echoed Christiansen’s remarks.

“It’s been approved and it’s ready to go,” he said. “It’s just that the owner doesn’t have the capital to do the necessary improvements.”

Watson said he finds the city’s assertions kind of insulting.

“Of course I want to keep costs as low as possible, and of course I don’t want to spend over $100,000 to retrofit a building I don’t own, but I have worked to comply with their requests,” he said.

Watson’s concerns grew after the Block 36 project was approved on Monday.

Christiansen said the city was unaware that a bowling alley and arcade was part of the Charles Company’s proposal until a special meeting April 25, when the developer gave a presentation highlighting a new anchor tenant.

“I understand the gentleman’s concern because when he proposed a business at this location, we didn’t know at the time there would be a proposal from a developer to put in a bowling alley, laser tag and arcade,” Christiansen said. “From staff’s standpoint, we never analyzed this, we never gave any input to it, nothing.”
 
These things take time when everyone has to get their cut first. Also it's simply unfortunate when money is made and some people are used up in the process.
 

Tripon

Member
Ah, GAF learns about local government. $20 says a developer is quietly putting together a plan for that land, and has local leaders rejecting all zoning applications U til they are ready.
Damn, this was a hard read.


This didn't happen at the original location but at the new place the city recommended and Watson moved to.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
I think its time to bring in the A-Team - that place definitely has a corrupt sherrif that is in cahoots with the bowling alley guy.
 
Just happened to look up news for this and apparently earlier this month the previous decision for Block 36 has been reverted:

The residents spoke Monday, and the City Council heard them loud and clear.

After a controversial decision made three weeks ago sparked backlash and created a rift in the community, city officials said they would consider changing their vote on a development project at the city’s flagship property in downtown.

And on Monday, they did.

For the property known as the Block 36 site, located on the corner of Highway 39 and historic Route 66, the city considered two mixed-use development projects: One, by the Charles Co., included a bowling alley and an arcade as its anchor tenant, and the other, by the Serrano Group, offered an art house movie theater as its main attraction.

In a 3-2 vote, the council went with the bowling alley proposal, despite popular support for bringing a Laemmle theater to Azusa. The move prompted residents to mobilize on social media and some began circulating a petition that asked the City Council to reconsider their decision. It received 286 signatures by Monday.

After hearing concerns from the community, city officials on Monday voted unanimously to change their vote for the Block 36 site, a move that brought hugs and handshakes all around.

The new vote rescinds the decision made May 16 and paves the way for the theater and apartments to be built at the site. It also opens a dialogue with the Charles Co. to find a different site for the bowling alley project within the city.

The theater was Watson's preference of the two, as it would not create competition with Super Arcade next door.
 
So... how is Super Arcade coming along? Glad for some good news, at least.

Haven't heard updates, but probably still in permit hell. The last Twitter post on the subject jokes about hoping to win the race for opening first. Super Arcade is in an existing building and the theater would literally be built from the ground up.

Was the Charles Co. Arcade a diferentes one? I'm so confused.

Block 36 is the site across the street from the building Super Arcade is attempting to open in. Charles Co.'s proposal for the site was the aforementioned bowling alley/arcade/etc. Watson objected because it was the city installing a competing business across the street, and residents objected because they largely preferred the theater.
 

psychodino

Neo Member
I hate bureaucracy
Just came down.

Some background: Super Arcade was an arcade in the city of Walnut who used to house Fighting Game Community tournaments including Wednesday Night Fights (Street Fighter IV, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, etc) and Super Smash Sunday featuring Super Smash Brothers Melee, among other FGC tournaments.

Last year, they had to shut down as they could not negoiate a new lease. After looking for a new location in Walnut, Mike Watson, the owner of Super Arcade found a location in Azusa. Today was the decision for the permit to allow running an arcade in the city.

The council voted 3-1 against the arcade listing several reasons included but not limited to:

- Would rather have retail vs. an arcade.
- Previous issues with the owner of the mall where the arcade would be located.
- Argued that fighting games such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were not in fact, 'high quality'.
- Potential public urination issues.
- People who already hang out in the mostly deserted Mall area causing problems late at night (after midnight).

People are currently blowing up the City of Azusa twitter account for the decision.

https://twitter.com/cityofazusa
https://twitter.com/search?q=City of azusa&src=typd&vertical=default&f=tweets



Suffice to say, people are angry at the decision.

Edit: The city of Azusa did approve Scrabble night.



For those want watch the archive of the city council meeting.

http://www.twitch.tv/iebattlegrounds/v/6560029?t=0h32m00s

Edit: Looks like Watson will have another chance in 3 weeks.



Edit: Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Roch7fbWJYo

Edit: Watson and Super Arcade was formally denied a permit by the City Planning commission. This was their reasons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5RsJ0drH14


Full archive of the 2nd appeal: http://www.twitch.tv/iebattlegrounds/v/7729317

And here's commentary by Mondo, who used to be an employee of Super Arcade.
http://www.twitch.tv/iebattlegrounds/v/7742108

EDIT:

BLUE SHIRT HERO PASSIONATE SPEECH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwPvAoK5XyY&feature=youtu.be
 
Jesus. What a blast from the past. Last time I was at super arcade was like... 8 years ago. Growing up in the hey day of local competition... I'm glad places like this can still stick around.
 

Tripon

Member
Ah, GAF learns about local government. $20 says a developer is quietly putting together a plan for that land, and has local leaders rejecting all zoning applications U til they are ready.
This is what happened. But in a last minute twist, they got approved and then a few weeks later, got denied after local outcry.
 
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