Santa Clarita Approves Growth Plan as 1st Step to Annex Surrounding Area

The Santa Clarita City Council has adopted its first growth-management plan, the first step toward annexing most of the surrounding valley.

Completion late Tuesday of the state-mandated plan, which has been under development for nearly three years, allows the 43-square-mile city to revive its attempt to extend its influence over 160 square miles of unincorporated land in the surrounding Santa Clarita Valley.

The city wants to extend its influence to gain a voice in the debates by the county government over development in the fast-growing region and over Elsmere Canyon, the site of a proposed garbage dump.

Two years ago, a state agency rejected Santa Clarita’s “sphere of influence” request--a necessary step toward annexation--saying the city had yet to complete its plan to guide growth in the valley through the year 2010. City officials said this week that they will reapply now that the plan is finished.

Adoption of the plan also marks a milestone for the 3-year-old city in other respects, City Manager George Caravalho said.

“It sets our destiny for the next 20 years,” Caravalho said.

The heart of the plan is the land-use element, which designates the potential development of the valley, one of the fastest-growing areas in the county. The plan covers not only the city but most of the surrounding valley because of the city’s interest in annexing that land from Los Angeles County in the future.

The plan estimates that by the year 2010, the valley’s population will increase about two-thirds, to a maximum of about 267,000 people in about 98,000 dwellings. This represents an increase of about 106,000 residents and 43,000 dwellings from current valleywide levels.

The plan also estimates that the number of jobs will increase by 116,000, from 40,000 to 156,000.

Although a similar document prepared by the county also estimates that there will be 267,000 valley residents in 20 years, the actual population under the county plan could be higher because county planners used midpoint, not maximum allowable, densities to project population, said Christine Trinkley, the city’s principal planner.

But unlike the county, the city will limit development to the midpoint density established under zoning codes. For instance, property zoned “Residential Suburban” ordinarily allows for a range of 3.3 to 6.6 units per acre. But under the city’s plan, only a maximum of 5 units--the midpoint density--would be allowed, Trinkley said.

“What this plan means is there is not going to be rampant development,” City Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy said. “And there won’t be an amendment process like there was in the county--that will be heavily discouraged.”

But the city is likely to receive dozens of requests for amendments because the plan reduces residential densities, particularly in rapidly growing Canyon Country, and encourages commercial development on more than 3,000 properties.

Not everyone is happy with the changes in land-use designations. “It could really hurt our community,” said Flynn Neilson, who lives on Copper Hill Drive near property reclassified from residential to commercial use.

The city has also already adopted a “pay as you go” approach in which developers are closely monitored to ensure that road improvements and other amenities actually are constructed before projects are completed. However, the city acknowledges in the plan that there will be a time lag during which roads and schools will remain overcrowded because of the county’s past development policies.

That lag was criticized Tuesday by members of a citizens group who plan to place a growth-control measure on the November ballot. The measure would limit housing construction to fewer than 500 units annually.

“We believe developers took an early lead in creating a very high-density plan,” said John Drew, a member of CARRING, or Citizens Assn. for a Responsible Residential Initiative on Growth. “We need a growth cap.”

The city’s plan also encourages the concentration of high-density residential and commercial development in a downtown business district known as the Valley Center or River Center. It will be located on 2,200 acres of largely vacant property, extending along Soledad Canyon Road from the Valencia Corporate Center on the west to the former Saugus Rehabilitation Center site, owned by the city of Los Angeles, on the east.

But Mayor Carl Boyer said that the Valley Center concept needs to be studied closely, expressing concern over traffic and economic effects on other areas of the city.

Santa Clarita spent about $700,000 in consulting fees and printing costs to prepare the growth-management plan, and held dozens of public meetings, including those before a citizens panel appointed by the council.

The council itself held 12 public hearings on the plan this month, in addition to holding separate hearings on the city’s $67.4-million proposed budget. Some officials said privately that they were planning to uncork champagne to toast completion of the arduous process. Others said they planned to celebrate by simply catching up on their sleep.

Indeed, the last item the council approved early Wednesday morning was Item No. 25: “It has been suggested that the City Council meeting of July 23 be canceled due to vacations of the council members.”