Castaic Plan Sees Industry as Antidote for Crowding

A plan that would guide development in Castaic until 2010, calling for a fourfold increase in industrial land there, was approved Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission.

The plan, which still must be approved by the Board of Supervisors, aims to preserve the semi-rural character of the northern Santa Clarita Valley.

By designating more industrial land, the plan aims to rectify what Planning Director John Edwards called a terrible imbalance between industrial and residential development in the valley.

In most parts of the county, industrial and commercial development generate one job for every 1 residents, Edwards said. But in the Santa Clarita Valley, he said, the ratio is one job for every 3 3/4 residents.

The plan would increase the amount of industrial acreage near Castaic from 384 acres to 1,528 acres. Only 132 acres of the available industrial land is being used, but planners hope the addition of industrial land will lead to jobs for Santa Clarita Valley residents and thus cut down on commuter traffic and air pollution.

Edwards said that the Santa Clarita Valley is dominated by housing tracts and that the Castaic region offers the best potential sites for industry in the valley.

Edwards also said that residential development generates more traffic than industrial development. The industrial acreage, therefore, would form a buffer to protect Val Verde, an unincorporated community of 1,500 residents, from urban sprawl, he said. Castaic has 5,000 residents, but the plan foresees a population spurt to 25,000 people by 2010.

The plan was approved by a 3-2 vote. Commissioner Clinton Ternstrom, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, and commission President Betty Fisher voted against it.

Ternstrom said the plan had many good features. But he said the industrial land designation should be cut back so that it will not infringe on Val Verde and two scenic canyons. He said he doubts the industrial land would provide a good buffer against dense residential development.

Fisher said she was disturbed by the assumption that workers in the new industries would come from the Santa Clarita Valley. The new workers, she said, could be drawn from elsewhere and only make traffic congestion worse.

The plan approved Wednesday was developed over 2 years by a citizens advisory committee, an independent consultant and the Department of Regional Planning.

The plan approved Wednesday is technically an amendment to the general plan for the entire Santa Clarita Valley. Originally, planning commissioners had proposed creating a general plan just for Castaic, but they later decided it should be part of an areawide plan.

The distinction is important because it reflects the county’s belief that the Santa Clarita Valley’s problems and future must be viewed from a regional perspective, Edwards said.