Santa Clarita Is Advised to Slim Down for Cityhood

The proposed city of Santa Clarita would not take in enough money to cover its expenses and should be scaled down, eliminating Castaic and parts of Valencia and Newhall, according to a report released Thursday.

The report by the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission staff estimated that the proposed city--incorporating Castaic, Newhall, Canyon Country, Valencia and Saugus--would have an annual revenue shortage of about $2.5 million.

The recommendations, by LAFCO Executive Director Ruth Benell, will be considered by the seven-member commission at a public hearing Feb. 25.

Members of the City of Santa Clarita Formation Committee, which received the 50-page report Thursday afternoon, said they will prepare a response after they study Benell’s proposed changes.

Cityhood committee member Jill Klajic said the proposed boundary changes were disappointing but not surprising. She said cityhood backers had feared that the LAFCO staff would redraw its boundaries in such a way that the city could then be deemed economically unworkable.

“These are only recommendations,” she said. “It’s not over yet.”

Carl Boyer III, the cityhood committee chairman, said the committee will work to keep Castaic in the boundaries.

He said the committee also will submit new figures showing that the proposed city would collect more in building-permit fees and other revenues than LAFCO, using 1985-86 figures, had estimated.

When LAFCO approves an incorporation, it usually adheres to Benell’s recommendations on boundaries. In turn, the Board of Supervisors, which must approve the cityhood proposal before it can be submitted to voters in the affected area, generally goes along with the commission’s action.

Boyer pointed out that Agoura Hills last year won a lawsuit challenging the LAFCO staff’s recommendations. LAFCO has appealed the ruling, however.

The cityhood committee has hired attorney Charles S. Vose, whose firm represents several cities and redevelopment districts, to represent its interests, Boyer said.

An assistant to Benell said Benell will not comment until next week, after cityhood backers and commissioners have had time to study the report.

Benell recommended that the Castaic area be eliminated because it is “some distance away from the main body of the proposal.” Parts of Newhall and Valencia west of the Golden State Freeway also were excluded because, the report said, the proposed city boundary traverses planned developments.

“Developing a planned community under different jurisdictions complicates the process,” Benell’s report said.

A smaller area south of the Antelope Valley Freeway and east of the Golden State Freeway also was deleted because the county is considering it for a dump site, the report said.

The report estimated that it would take $21.3 million a year to operate the city proposed by the committee. Revenues of $18.8 million--fees, taxes and other funds--would have been available to the city during the 1985-86 fiscal year, the report said.

Benell said that much of the shortage can be attributed to street construction and that the city could offset part of that with state and federal funds.

The report recommended that the commission amend the boundaries and postpone a decision until it has studied the financial viability of the scaled-down city.