Panel OKs Industrial Park Plans Near Castaic

Los Angeles County planning commissioners gave tentative approval Thursday to plans by Newhall Land & Farming Co. to build a 12-million-square-foot industrial park near Castaic, setting aside protests by homeowners who live nearby.

Neighbors of the proposed Valencia Commerce Center complained that the park would generate intolerable traffic and noise, and urged the company and Regional Planning Commission to redesign the project.

The commission, which approved the project on a 3-2 vote, instructed Newhall Land officials to work with county planners on new designs that would make the project more compatible with an adjacent residential neighborhood known as Live Oak. The park would be built on 1,436 vacant acres west of the Golden State Freeway and north of California 126.

But members of the Live Oak Community Assn. said they doubted that Newhall Land would address all their complaints.

“I don’t think the points we want pushed will be pushed hard enough,” association member Mary Aurit said.

The project must still be approved by the Board of Supervisors, and Aurit said the homeowners plan to continue their fight before the board.

Aurit also complained that Newhall Land has been unwilling to work with residents on new designs, a charge that company officials denied.

“We’ve been working with the homeowners for several months,” said Marlee Lauffer, Newhall Land spokeswoman.

The Valencia Commerce Center would include manufacturing and office space, and Newhall Land officials predict that it will create at least 20,000 jobs. Among the major tenants will be the U. S. Postal Service, which plans to build a $26.8-million processing center to handle mail in northern Los Angeles County.