La Puente : Sports Complex Rejected

A proposal to build an upscale sports complex, featuring a billiards parlor, arcade and restaurant at a decaying shopping center was derailed by the City Council on Tuesday night.

Although the council supported a family-oriented billiards parlor at the South Hills Square shopping center on Hacienda Boulevard, members objected to the proposed sale of alcoholic beverages.

“This city already has a greater concentration of liquor outlets than any city in the San Gabriel Valley,” Councilman Charles H. Storing said. “As inviting as this seems, the problems far outweigh the good that would come of it.”

In a 4-1 vote, the council returned the project to the Planning Commission, which approved it earlier after lengthy discussion, and recommended that it be reconsidered without the sale of alcohol.

Justin Okada, one of three partners in the project, said the council’s decision was equivalent to a denial. “It’s largely a dead issue if they insist on eliminating the alcoholic beverages,” he said.