Zoning OKd to Quadruple Industrial Sites in Castaic

The amount of land zoned for industry in Castaic will increase fourfold under a plan approved Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

County planners hope the increase, which is called for in a general plan that will guide development in Castaic through 2010, will provide more jobs in the heavily residential Santa Clarita Valley. More jobs in Castaic, the planners argue, will reduce commuter traffic between Santa Clarita and the San Fernando Valley.

“I am pleased that the plan recognizes the need to improve the jobs-housing balance in this part of the valley,” Supervisor Mike Antonovich said before the board unanimously approved the plan. “The expansion of the industrial areas, coupled with the modest expansion of housing, will benefit the entire Santa Clarita Valley.”

Under the plan, the amount of industrially zoned land will mushroom from 384 to 1,528 acres. Most of the land lies north of State Highway 126, which is bordered by the unincorporated community of Val Verde on the west and the Golden State Freeway on the east. The Newhall Land & Farming Co. plans to build an industrial park on some of the property.

At Antonovich’s urging, the supervisors ordered the Department of Regional Planning to report annually on whether public services keep pace with growth in the northern Santa Clarita Valley. The area is growing rapidly. Castaic, which has 5,000 residents, should have 25,000 people by 2010, the plan projects.

The plan, technically an amendment to the larger Santa Clarita Valley general plan, was 2 years in the making. It was drafted by a citizens advisory committee, a consulting firm and the Department of Regional Planning.

Dave Vannatta, Antonovich’s planning deputy, said that except for minor alterations, the plan was identical to an earlier version approved by the Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission on Nov. 2. The plan limits residential development to one to six dwelling units an acre in most of the region’s canyons.

Most of Hasley Canyon will be zoned for one dwelling unit per acre. Seven developers, who had dubbed themselves the “Hasley Seven,” had asked the Planning Commission to allow more houses in the canyon. Homeowners from Hasley Canyon and Val Verde successfully lobbied against the request.