Cityhood Plan for Sunset Hills a Bad Idea, Panel Warns

The proposed city of Sunset Hills in the Santa Clarita Valley would not be financially sound and should not be incorporated, according to a report released Thursday.

The report, prepared by the staff of the Local Agency Formation Commission, also questioned the value of launching a second city in the valley, noting that the city of Santa Clarita is only two years old and is still working out plans for its future.

“The need for an additional city in the Santa Clarita Valley has not been demonstrated,” the report said. LAFCO, which oversees incorporations and annexations, has scheduled a hearing on the cityhood proposal June 27.

LAFCO Executive Director Ruth Benell said the proposed 27.8-square-mile city--now mostly vacant land west of the Golden State Freeway, inhabited by 1,701 residents--does not have the industrial base to provide public services. Except for a few fast-food restaurants and a hotel, the only major commercial enterprise is Six Flags Magic Mountain, which opposes the cityhood plan.

“Frankly, I don’t think it’s a viable proposal,” Benell said. She noted that the cityhood plan is opposed by Newhall Land and Farming Co., which owns 19.5 square miles in the proposed city, 70% of its territory.

A LAFCO study found that Sunset Hills would amass yearly budget deficits from $275,000 to almost $500,000 during the first four years of cityhood. In the world of municipal government, the deficits would be relatively small but would not justify incorporation, Benell said.

The cityhood drive was launched by Jeff Stevenson, a vice president of Dale Poe Development Corp., and Ernest Dynda, a former member of the Agoura Hills City Council. Dale Poe is building the giant Stevenson Ranch development that would be the heart of the proposed city and has expressed concerns about slow-growth movements in Santa Clarita.

Sunset Hills is an excellent candidate for cityhood because the residents could plan their city from its birth, creating their own identity in the Santa Clarita Valley, Stevenson said.

The cityhood proposal was submitted to LAFCO last fall shortly before the commission considered a request by Santa Clarita that would have made Sunset Hills eligible for annexation by Santa Clarita. LAFCO turned down Santa Clarita’s request, citing the Sunset Hills incorporation movement in its denial.

Angry Santa Clarita officials blasted the LAFCO denial and bitterly labeled Sunset Hills “Poe-dunk.” Mayor Jo Anne Darcy pledged to fight Sunset Hills cityhood.

Benell said the Sunset Hills cityhood campaign was partly driven by the desire to keep the area out of Santa Clarita. “I’m not sure how serious the proponents of the proposal were” about creating their own city, Benell said.

Stevenson partially agreed. “I don’t want to be in the city of Santa Clarita at this time,” he said. Even if LAFCO denies cityhood for Sunset Hills at the hearing this month, the commission should “preserve our right to decide our own destiny” and keep Sunset Hills out of Santa Clarita, he said.