Agreement Reached on Mall in Santa Clarita

Santa Clarita will collect at least $137 million in sales taxes in return for providing financial aid for an 80-acre regional mall proposed by Newhall Land & Farming Co., city officials announced Friday.

The agreement will allow Newhall Land to proceed with the long-awaited Valencia Town Center, the first major retail outlet in the Santa Clarita Valley, and funnel the $137 million into the city treasury over 30 years, Assistant City Manager Ken Pulskamp said.

Under the agreement, expected to be approved Tuesday by the City Council, Santa Clarita would issue bonds to pay for $9.95 million in road improvements needed for the mall.

The bonds will be paid off with 16% of the sales taxes collected at the mall over 30 years, Pulskamp said. The city would not be required to dip into its general fund for the money, he added.

Newhall Land officials initially had requested $12.8 million in aid. Also, as an enticement, Newhall Land officials said Santa Clarita could annex 150 acres of company property.

But city officials won additional concessions in negotiations, which began in July. Newhall Land, the region’s major landholder, agreed to permit the annexation of 406 acres of commercial land it owns south of Newhall Ranch Road and west of Bouquet Canyon Road. The company also agreed to grant the city easements for 4.5 miles of hiking trails along the Santa Clara River.

Newhall Land officials said the $180-million mall project could not be built without financial aid from the city.

Some residents urged the city not to subsidize a private enterprise. But Newhall Land officials argued that other California cities, including Palmdale and Burbank, had agreed to subsidize new malls by floating bonds to be paid off with sales taxes.

In an unrelated development Friday, Public Works Director John Medina announced that Santa Clarita will begin a curbside recycling program Oct. 18, with a first phase involving 3,000 households. The program, to be presented to the council Tuesday, may include the entire city by next April, Medina said.