Santa Clarita, Water Board to Discuss Land Deal

The Santa Clarita City Council and directors of the Castaic Lake Water Agency will hold a joint meeting Wednesday to plan a joint purchase of the 520-acre Saugus Rehabilitation Center, a defunct alcoholic rehabilitation farm owned by the city of Los Angeles.

Santa Clarita wants the property for a city hall, park and perhaps an arts complex. The water agency wants 65 to 80 acres to build a plant to filter drinking water for the fast-growing Santa Clarita Valley.

Water agency directors agreed to the meeting Wednesday night after a presentation by Councilmen Carl Boyer III and Dennis Koontz.

The closed meeting will be held in the water agency’s boardroom at 23560 Lyons Ave. at 7:30 p.m.

Boyer said the council and water agency will discuss the possibility of making Los Angeles an offer on the property. Robert C. Sagehorn, water agency general manager, said Thursday that the agency is still waiting for Los Angeles officials to release a long-awaited appraisal of the Saugus property.

Initial Phase

The proposed treatment plant is the focal point of a $230-million project to improve and expand water agency facilities through 2010, Sagehorn said. The agency hopes to have the initial phase of the treatment plant operating by 1992, he said.

The Saugus Rehabilitation Center has been the subject of speculation recently because it could play a role in a proposed land swap aimed at preserving Elsmere Canyon, just southeast of Santa Clarita, as a dump site.

City Council members have repeatedly denied rumors that they will not oppose a dump in Elsmere in exchange for the former alcoholic rehabilitation farm. “It would appear to me that there are rumors out in the community not at all based on fact,” Boyer said at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

The city of Los Angeles wants to open a dump in Elsmere. The council has not taken a formal position on plans by BKK Corp. of Torrance, which also wants to open a dump in Elsmere Canyon by 1991. Council members have said they will wait until an environmental impact report is completed to comment. The report could be ready by early next year, company officials have said.