L.A., Water Agency Fight Over Santa Clarita Parcel

A Los Angels official warned the Castaic Lake Water Agency Wednesday night that the city will fight any attempt by the agency to condemn 520 acres of city-owned land in Santa Clarita.

C. William Mercer, chief administrative analyst with the city, leveled the warning as the water agency’s board of directors considered a proposal to begin eminent domain proceedings to take possession of the defunct Saugus Rehabilitation Center.

The water agency hopes to use about 60 to 80 acres of the old alcoholic rehabilitation center for a drinking water treatment plant. The agency’s sole plant near Castaic Lake is nearing capacity, and the agency will need a second plant to serve the growing Santa Clarita Valley in two years, water officials say.

The Santa Clarita City Council also wants parts of the Saugus property for a park, civic center and possibly an arts complex.

Mercer said Los Angeles would not sell the entire property to the water agency, but would be willing to negotiate over the acreage needed just for the water filtration plant. Until September, he said, city officials assumed the water district was interested only in a small portion of the property.

Mercer said Los Angeles wants to hold on to most of the site for its value as a bargaining chip in negotiations over opening a garbage dump in Elsmere Canyon just east of Santa Clarita. Under a tentative agreement involving the city and country of Los Angeles, the city would give a portion of the Saugus site to Santa Clarita if that city agrees not to oppose the landfill.

The Santa Clarita City Council has not yet opposed or endorsed the landfill or the city-county pact.

In September, the water agency and the Santa Clarita Council agreed they would jointly try to acquire the rehabilitation center, with the water agency leading the purchase. The agency offered Los Angeles $15.8 million for the property, but Los Angeles officials said the bid was too low.

The agency’s board did not respond to Mercer’s comments because its condemnation plans have been stymied, at least momentarily, by objections raised by the city of Santa Clarita and a civic group. Santa Clarita officials and the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment said the water agency should prepare a full environmental impact report before proceeding with the project.

Robert C. Sagehorn, the water agency’s general manager, said the agency could not proceed with the condemnation proceedings until it resolves the issue of the environmental impact report. The agency staff should have a response to the request for such a report in the next few days, he said.