State to Study Bid for City Near Santa Clarita

A state agency will begin studying whether it is feasible to create a new city west of Santa Clarita now that a citizens group has collected the required number of signatures on petitions supporting the proposed city of Sunset Hills, an agency spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Michi Takahashi, spokeswoman for the Local Agency Formation Commission, said the Los Angeles County registrar of voters confirmed Friday that cityhood proponents had collected enough valid signatures to require the study. The commission, known as LAFCO, oversees incorporations and annexations.

The citizens group needed signatures from 25% of the area’s 567 registered voters to launch the cityhood study. The group originally fell 24 signatures short of the 142 needed but submitted 52 new signatures on Dec. 15. The registrar determined that 40 of the new signatures were valid, Takahashi said.

The proposed city would cover 27.8 square miles west of the Golden State Freeway and south of Magic Mountain. Most of the area is being developed by the Dale Poe Development Corp. Members of the Santa Clarita City Council have called the proposed city a sham, saying it is a ploy by Dale Poe Development to avoid annexation by Santa Clarita.