Santa Clarita to Proceed With Suit Over Housing Plan

The Santa Clarita City Council on Friday reaffirmed its decision to file a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to overturn the board’s approval of a 2,555-unit addition to the giant Stevenson Ranch housing development.

The council met during a special meeting called to reconsider the lawsuit and the council’s recent decision to oust a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission. On the parks issue, the council reversed itself, reappointing Commissioner Laurene Weste to a new term on the panel.

The lawsuit will challenge the adequacy of the environmental impact report prepared for the Stevenson Ranch expansion. Councilman Carl Boyer III, speaking after the council’s deliberations, said the report was deficient, limited in scope and based on old data.

Stevenson Ranch, which the developer hopes to expand to 10,000 units, is situated west of the Golden State Freeway and south of Magic Mountain.

Boyer said the environmental report prepared for the developer, Dale Poe Development Corp., fails to consider how much traffic the project will funnel into Santa Clarita, which is east of the freeway.

Boyer said the lawsuit might be filed as early as next week.

The council voted recently to sue the county, but in an unusual move reconsidered its decision Friday afternoon at the request of Mayor Jo Anne Darcy. Darcy said she wanted the council to be aware of the potential impacts of a lawsuit.

Darcy is a field deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who supports the project. To avoid a conflict of interest, Darcy did not attend the closed session held to discuss the lawsuit.

Dale Poe, as a condition of winning county approval for the project, has agreed to donate 13 acres and $2.4 million for a new school in the fast-growing Newhall School District. The company will donate more money and land as other phases of the project are approved. Donations ultimately could total $22 million.

Jeff Stevenson, a Dale Poe vice president, said the school district hoped to obtain the money by November so it could apply for a matching contribution from the state. A lawsuit could jeopardize the district’s ability to receive those funds, Stevenson said.

Meeting in open session on the parks issue, the council re-evaluated a numerical ranking system it had used to rate the candidates vying for three slots on the commission. Candidates were rated on a scale of one to five.

Weste was ousted from the panel even though she had received fives from Darcy, Councilman Howard P. (Buck) McKeon and Boyer. Councilwoman Jill Klajic gave Weste a zero and Councilwoman Jan Heidt gave her a one.

Weste was replaced by George Stigile while Commissioners Jeff Wheeler and Todd Longshore were reappointed to new terms. Stigile lost his seat after the reappointment of Weste.

McKeon said he was disturbed that a minority of the council could control an appointment. Council members said Friday that they should use the ranking system only as a guide for appointments. The council set aside its previous action and renamed Weste, Wheeler and Longshore to the commission.