Santa Clarita Joins Suit to Link Growth to School Availability

The Santa Clarita City Council will join two school districts in a fight to block development in the Santa Clarita Valley until funding is found to build new schools.

Council members, saying they are frustrated by continuing development outside the city, decided Tuesday night to support the William S. Hart Union High School District and the Saugus Union Elementary School District in a lawsuit against Los Angeles County.

The suit, which the districts filed in September, argues that county development standards require the Board of Supervisors to reject proposed building projects unless there are adequate schools to accommodate growth in the fast-growing valley.

Officials in five valley school districts, including Hart and Saugus, said that since 1982, development has added more than 3,000 students.

Research Position

The council asked City Atty. Carl K. Newton to research whether Santa Clarita should join the districts as a plaintiff or file arguments in a friend-of-the-court brief.

In a related action last month, council members said they would seek a court order to compel the supervisors to impose a building moratorium until new roads can be constructed to relieve traffic congestion. Newton is also researching the issue.

At the urging of Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy, the council also decided Tuesday to organize a “summit meeting” of school superintendents and major Santa Clarita developers to discuss funding problems and possible solutions.

Darcy said Wednesday that she hopes that a frank discussion of differences can break the impasse between the schools and developers. “I don’t see anything happening,” she said. “All I see are lawsuits.”