Housing on Holtz Ranch Is Canceled by Developer

The Holtz Ranch housing development in Silverado Canyon, which had been on the drawing boards in several versions over 4 years, was canceled this week by the county after the developer pulled out of the deal.

The project, originally planned at 386 units by Covina-based developer M.J. Loustaunau, had been scaled down by county officials first to 164 units, then to 67, because of concerns about the amount of traffic it would generate and its impact on the environment.

Loustaunau could not be reached for comment Friday, but Michael Ruane, county planning administrator, said the developer “just did not feel he could develop the property” under the constraints. In addition to trimming the number of units, the county had blocked a plan by Loustaunau to build a sewage-treatment plant that would have served only the houses in the development.

“We did not want these small package plants scattered all over the canyon,” Ruane said. The county had agreed to the installation of about 20 septic tanks until a regional waste-water plant could be built at some later date.

The project, which had been under fire from environmentalists all along, began to unravel on April 5 when Loustaunau notified the Holtz family, which was to sell him the 318-acre site, that he had canceled escrow on the deal.

The family, which had requested a final zoning change on the property that was to have been considered by the Board of Supervisors Wednesday, withdrew that request the day before.