Agency Kills Bid by Santa Clarita for More Power : Growth: The city’s defeat is a major victory for developers and advocates of dumps in Elsmere and Towsley canyons.

In a stunning political defeat for Santa Clarita, a state agency on Wednesday quashed the city’s bid to extend its influence over 160 square miles of unincorporated land in the surrounding Santa Clarita Valley.

The action by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) was a major victory for developers who lobbied to keep their building projects beyond the city’s control. The Dale Poe Development Corp. has even proposed forming a separate city to avoid Santa Clarita’s grasp.

LAFCO’s action, which shocked Santa Clarita officials, was a victory for Los Angeles County sanitation authorities who wanted to prevent Santa Clarita from gaining a voice in the debate over Towsley and Elsmere canyons, sites of two proposed garbage dumps.

“It borders on punishment,” said one Santa Clarita official who requested anonymity. The commissioners essentially warned Santa Clarita to stay out of the Elsmere Canyon debate, the official said.

At issue was the city’s proposed “sphere of influence,” which designates land that is eligible for annexation.

The designation does not give a municipality control over unincorporated county land. But it does give the city political standing to present its views to county authorities in debates over development and other activities in the area.

Mayor Jan Heidt said the City Council hoped its proposed sphere would give Santa Clarita a chance to influence the behind-the-scenes politicking by county and congressional leaders over the proposed Elsmere Canyon dump.

“The city of Santa Clarita has tried in every way imaginable to get to the table and become part of the process,” Heidt said. But so far, she said, the city has been shut out.

Santa Clarita, which will celebrate its second anniversary next month, sought an area covering most of the surrounding valley, 160 square miles of mostly vacant land where developers hope to build at least 38,000 units in the next few years.

Ruth Benell, LAFCO executive director, recommended that the commission reduce the city’s request by more than half. But the commission, citing the city’s youth and the opposition from developers, slashed Benell’s recommendation. They confined the city’s sphere to the 40 square miles within the city’s current boundaries--in effect giving it no outside sphere of influence at all.

Santa Clarita and LAFCO have a history of antagonistic relations. Cityhood proponents originally wanted a 90-square-mile city, which the commission two years ago cut by more than half before allowing the issue to be put to a vote, drawing protests from cityhood backers.

LAFCO Commissioner Henri F. Pellissier, noting that the city has yet to complete its general plan, said Santa Clarita officials could ask for a larger sphere after the plan is completed, possibly by next June. A general plan provides broad guidelines for a region’s development.

Santa Clarita officials, clearly angry after the 2 1/2-hour hearing, said they were surprised that the commission rebuffed their request so forcefully. “I think it was irresponsible on their part,” Councilman Dennis Koontz said.

“They didn’t just say no, they had to take a pound of flesh,” Heidt said.

“In the five counties I have worked in in the state of California, I’ve never seen an action like this,” City Manager George Caravalho said.

Mike Kotch, a former Santa Clarita cityhood advocate, said: “LAFCO has demonstrated consistent willingness to comply with any request from the development industry.”

During the hearing, City Council members blasted the proposed incorporation of 27 square miles west of the Golden State Freeway, proposed by the Dale Poe Development Corp. “I don’t believe for a minute that Dale Poe has any intention of incorporating that area,” Councilman Carl Boyer III said.

Koontz, who dubbed the proposed city “Poedunk,” called the cityhood request a sham.

But Ernest Dynda, a former Agoura Hills councilman who helped circulate cityhood petitions delivered to LAFCO last week, denied the allegations. “I do not participate in shams or scams,” said Dynda, who recently purchased a house in the area.