Ambitious Race Track Plan Hailed : Los Alamitos: A group hopes to rebuild or refurbish the facility and golf course, plus locate offices and a hotel on 128 acres. Cypress officials and a residents’ group are pleased.

After years of dispute over development of Los Alamitos Race Track, city officials say they are poised to endorse an ambitious plan by Lloyd Arnold--head of a group that recently bought the property for $71 million--to build a new or remodeled racing facility, a refurbished golf course, office buildings and a hotel on the 128-acre site.

Cypress Councilman John Kanel reacted with enthusiasm Friday.

“This new plan is definitely a big plus for the citizens of Cypress,” Kanel said. “I will urge all citizens to support the proposal so we can move forward and solve some of the problems that have divided the community.”

Part of the plan would require a change in zoning for 75 acres of the land, however. So the City Council is expected Monday to consider seeking voter approval in an April 24 referendum.

Arnold’s plan also has the acceptance of a powerful residents group.

“All in all, it’s looking very good to us,” said Joyce Nicholson, president of Concerned Citizens of Cypress for Greenbelt and Open Space Preservation.

“I believe this is the greatest spot in the world for a race track,” Arnold said. “Orange County has everything. It has the population. It has the affluent population. It’s a low-crime area. It’s clean and the weather is unbelievable.

“There is a tremendous need in Orange County for night entertainment, and it’s my dream to make this a place you can come at night.”

The biggest step is the remodeling or rebuilding of the racing facility. Arnold has already decided to tear down the turf club and clubhouse at the track. He then may rebuild the turf club above the grandstand.

Arnold said, however, that he prefers a second option--an entirely new facility that would be built on the parking lot. Then, the current facility would be demolished and the new one moved onto the foundation where the current facility stands.

The building of a new facility would cost $23 million and $25 million. Simply rebuilding the grandstand and clubhouse would cost about half as much. A decision will be made in the fall, based on the success of racing this year. So far, the track is doing very well, with both attendance and betting up 20% to 25%.

“We’ve already made up our mind after running this thing a month that we are going to do one of the two,” Arnold said. “If we come back here this fall and average a million dollars a night (betting handle) on harness and a million on the quarter horses, we’re willing to take the risk. I have no doubt we’ll obtain the million easy.”

After 40 days of the current harness racing meeting, the overall handle is almost $800,000 and climbing.

Arnold has already sent the plans for the new facility out for estimates. He figures that racing would be interrupted for just four to six weeks and that construction would start within two years.

Other plans include moving the paddock to the spectator side of the track and building a new, $2-million matrix board. Both should be in place before the end of the year and are not contingent on the other plans.

A second step of the Los Alamitos plan is the refurbishing of its 93.5-acre golf course. The old clubhouse has already been razed and a new, 15,000-square-foot building will be under construction soon. In addition, a double-deck driving range will be built.

The golf project is expected to cost $2 million to $3 million; construction is expected to be finished by mid-September. Arnold said he expects the golf course to average 100,000 to 125,000 rounds a year.

The third step is the development of 75 acres of frontage property on Katella Avenue and Walker Street. To do that, though, Arnold needs rezoning approval from the citizens of Cypress.

The last proposed development for the Los Alamitos track and golf course property was defeated by voters nearly 3 to 1 in 1989. But that proposal, dubbed “Cypress Downs,” called for a much more densely developed commercial complex and was opposed by Concerned Concerned Citizens of Cypress for Greenbelt and Open Space Preservation.

“It looks much much better,” group leader Nicholson said.

Nicholson said as a condition imposed by the council to place the current project on the ballot, her group has agreed to drop its appeal of a lawsuit brought by the developers of the earlier Cypress Downs proposal.

In November, 1987, the concerned citizens’ group was instrumental in approving ballot Measure D, which requires a referendum when rezoning land, such as the Los Alamitos property, that has been designated only for public and semipublic uses.

Hollywood Park Realty Enterprises, the prior owner of the property, sued to overturn Measure D and won. But the citizens group appealed the ruling, in effect keeping Measure D in force.

Nicholson said under the agreement recently reached with the current developers, the citizens group will not pursue its appeal, and the developers will not require Measure D to be scrapped. This will retain protection for other areas in the city zoned for public uses, she said.

“The one bid that got recalled included the redevelopment of the golf course,” Arnold said. “That was more than the citizens of Cypress wanted. But we’re only asking for one-fourth of the property to be rezoned, where the other group wanted two-thirds of the property.”

Under Arnold’s plan, the property would house a business park and professional offices all along Katella, except where the golf course is, and along Walker between Katella and Cypress Avenue. A hotel and restaurants would be built on Katella near the former Vessels Stallion Farm. Arnold said there has been interest shown by several major hotel chains but declined to name any.

Arnold said that he would prefer to sell the property but that most of the decisions in the redevelopment will be handled by one of his partners, Buzz Oates. Oates is the biggest warehouse builder in Northern California.

Staff writer Davan Maharaj contributed to this report.