Santa Clarita Forgoes New Ordinance to Limit Growth

The Santa Clarita City Council has decided against adopting a growth-management ordinance, saying the city’s blueprint for development already plots a good chart for growth.

The council also announced after meeting in closed session early Wednesday that it will correct a minor error it made July 25 when it adopted the development blueprint, known as the General Plan. The error was cited in a lawsuit filed last month by Dale Poe Development Corp. against Santa Clarita.

The suit alleges that the city violated a number of technical requirements in adopting the plan, including approving a portion concerning noise without making the proper map available to the public at the hearing.

To correct the mistake, the council said Wednesday that it will hold public hearings in December on the noise contour map, which describes projected noise levels in the city in the year 2010.

“They said my lawsuit was a frivolous bunch of garbage, but I guess it isn’t,” said Jeff Stevenson, a spokesman for Dale Poe Development Corp. and a plaintiff in the suit.

Santa Clarita’s concession does not settle the lawsuit, nor does it affect the implementation of the General Plan, said Lynn Harris, an assistant city manager in charge of planning.

Saying the General Plan is sufficient, the council Tuesday voted 3 to 2 against adopting a growth-management ordinance. Prior to the meeting, there had been speculation that the council would adopt such a measure to head off plans by a citizens group to put a slow-growth measure on the April ballot.

Council members Jan Heidt and Jill Klajic cast the opposing votes. Klajic is the sole supporter on the council of a slow-growth measure being proposed by the Citizens Assn. for a Responsible Residential Initiative on Growth (CARRING). The group’s initiative would allow only 475 units to be built in the city each year for the next 10 years.

Heidt said she opposes a numerical cap on growth but believes that a growth-management ordinance is necessary to strengthen some policies in the General Plan, including requiring developers to pay for schools, streets, sewers, water and other improvements before completing their projects.

But Mayor Carl Boyer and council members Howard (Buck) McKeon and Jo Anne Darcy disagreed and voted against the ordinance. Boyer took the opportunity to criticize the CARRING initiative, saying he had not read the “darn thing.”