Local News in Brief : Agua Dulce Zoning Plan Gets Final OK

An unusual plan to preserve the rural character of the Santa Clarita Valley community of Agua Dulce has been formally adopted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

By voting Tuesday to approve the language of an ordinance creating a 28-square-mile “rural standards district,” the board gave final approval to a plan it agreed to in May, after years of lobbying by Agua Dulce residents.

The measure, designed specifically to discourage urbanization, requires that homes be built on lots of at least two acres. It also allows county planners to waive sidewalk, curb and gutter requirements, while requiring that future commercial developments be built in Old West-style architecture.

Praised as innovative by county planners, the measure is seen as a model for other rural communities interested in protecting their ambiance, but was criticized as unduly restrictive by a developer with large landholdings in the area.

David S. Vannatta, a spokesman for the county Department of Regional Planning, said the measure was only the second of its kind in an unincorporated area of the county. West Hollywood, where residents imposed a building-height limit before it became a city, was the first.

Vannatta said the law will take effect at the end of August.