RACETRACK INITIATIVE

An Arcadia citizens group will turn in an initiative petition that, if it qualifies for the November ballot, would let voters decide whether they should approve any changes to the use of the grounds at Santa Anita Park.

The prospective ballot measure comes in the wake of Santa Anita’s controversial plan that it recently withdrew for a $100-million entertainment center in the horse racing track’s 120-acre parking lot.

“We will turn in 5,100 voters’ signatures, 1,200 more than needed to qualify for the ballot,� said Jackie Asyre of Neighbors for Arcadia.

The ballot measure would take away the City Council’s power to decide what should be allowed on the track and give it directly to voters at the ballot box, she said.

Last month, citing community opposition and financial exposure, Santa Anita Enterprises withdrew its application to the city for the 1.5-million- square-foot complex, promising instead to propose another project later this year.

A majority of the council has declined to put such a measure on the ballot.