Santa Clarita Builders Say Revised Hillside Limits Are Still Too Strict

Santa Clarita municipal planners have agreed to loosen proposed restrictions on development of the city’s many hillsides and ridgelines, but developers complained Thursday that the regulations would still be too strict.

Meetings between planners and a coalition of developers, architects and construction workers so far have not produced a compromise in the vigorous debate over a proposed hillside and ridgeline preservation ordinance, participants said.

“We’re not overly optimistic a compromise can occur at this point,” said Stan Fargeon, president of Pacific Crest Development Corp. and a member of the coalition.

Unless an agreement is reached this month, the Planning Commission and City Council will have to decide between two sharply conflicting proposals by developers and city planners.

The commission’s next public hearing on the issue is scheduled for Thursday.

Under the city’s proposal, developers would be unable to build houses or shopping centers atop most of the city’s prominent ridges. They would also have to meet strict criteria before being permitted to build on hillsides with grades of 10% or more.

The proposal would replace less stringent Los Angeles County regulations that now apply within the city.

In contrast, developers are proposing that the city adopt the county’s standard, which applies only to areas with grades of 25% or more. They also oppose lowering permitted housing densities in some hilly areas, as suggested by city planners, and want to classify fewer ridgelines as “significant,” thus leaving the others free for development.

This week, the city offered to let developers cluster housing units in portions of their property with grades of 25% or more, thus increasing allowable densities in some areas.

But the number of housing units could be limited to 70% of the midpoint density established in the General Plan, the city’s recently adopted blueprint for future development. The midpoint density is the halfway point in a given range of the allowable number of units.

“In their minds, it’s a compromise, but . . . it’s not good enough,” Fargeon said.

Santa Clarita City Council member Jan Heidt on Thursday defended the city’s offer, calling it “a solid piece of work.”

But developers said the city’s proposals should be limited to establishing rules for hillside development, such as how high up a hillside a developer should be allowed to grade, and not address densities directly.

“The more this thing is up for public review, the more idiotic it looks,” said Bruce T. Crable of Monteverde Development Co. of Saugus, which has threatened to withdraw its request to have 75 acres in the Saugus area annexed by Santa Clarita if the city adopts the proposal.

Other cities have passed ordinances that limit the number of units in hilly areas. For instance, the city of Los Angeles on Wednesday adopted an ordinance that restricts development on hillsides in the northeast San Fernando Valley, reducing the projected final population of that area from 150,000 to 129,000.

Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy said the proposed ordinance is still too strict. Mayor Carl Boyer said he will decide after hearing both sides but said he is leaning toward a more restrictive ordinance than developers would prefer because “you can’t restore a hill after it has been raped by a developer.”

Councilwoman Jill Klajic could not be reached for comment, and Councilman Howard (Buck) McKeon was out of town Thursday.