Exemption Sought for 1,000-Acre Development : Santa Clarita: The Anden Group asks the city to free it in advance from a growth cap that won’t be OKd or rejected until an April election.

Concerned that Santa Clarita voters will pass a slow-growth measure in April, a developer has asked the city to exempt a 1,000-acre parcel from the proposed growth cap.

The Anden Group is seeking to build up to 3,000 residences on the tract east of Saugus Speedway, but the measure would limit construction throughout the city to 475 housing units annually for the next decade.

Leaders of the slow-growth initiative on Friday urged the City Council to deny the developer’s request, saying it would undermine their efforts.

But council members were divided on the issue, citing an offer by Anden to donate 2.5 acres of the land for a commuter rail station.

The city announced this week that the growth-control measure, proposed more than a year ago by Citizens Assn. for a Responsible Residential Initiative on Growth, had qualified for the April ballot.

Anden is the only developer so far to seek an exemption, requesting it in a Nov. 12 letter to the city.

It was in the same letter that the developer offered to donate land for the train station. Under current plans, the city would lease a five-acre portion of the property for the depot, paying $1 annually for three years with an option to buy for the appraised value at the time.

While Anden’s proposal seeks an exemption from the proposed growth cap, it does not ask the city to guarantee approval of the 3,000-unit housing project and retail center off Soledad Canyon Road.

The Planning Commission is scheduled to consider Anden’s request Jan. 7.

Members of CARRING said Friday that the city should refrain from granting the exemption and let voters decide the issue.

“The City Council should respect the vote and not take any action to undermine it beforehand,” said Bob Lathrop, the group’s spokesman. “It’s strictly a matter of conscience and we expect the council to deal with it in an ethical and professional way.”

Stan Brown, an Anden vice president, said the company needs the exemption because it must build 700 to 800 housing units annually in the project to satisfy lenders and to finance about $30 million in proposed road improvements.

“A project of our size would be difficult to finance if we could only build some percentage of 475 units per year,” he said.

If the exemption is denied, Brown said, he is not sure the company would be willing to lease the station site to the city. Service between Santa Clarita and Union Station in Los Angeles is scheduled to begin in October, using existing tracks that cross the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys.

Mayor Carl Boyer reacted angrily to Anden’s request for an exemption, saying he was “not going to be forced into an agreement. If we have to pay for a train station somewhere else, then that’s their tough luck.”

Several developers had vied to have the station located in their housing tracts because it is expected to increase sales to commuters. John Medina, Santa Clarita’s deputy city manager in charge of public works, said the city will “move full-bore” on other sites for the depot if the developer does not sign the $1 lease agreement by the end of January.

“That’s not a threat, that’s a reality,” Medina said, because construction must begin in May if the station is to open by next fall.

But two council members, Jan Heidt and Jo Anne Darcy, said the Anden tract is the most central location for the depot. They reacted cautiously to Anden’s proposal, saying it might be worth it to trade the exemption for the train station.

“I’d hate for them to hold the train station hostage . . . but the bottom line is that what’s best for the community is to get the train station and proceed on schedule,” Heidt said.

Even if the exemption is granted, Darcy said, “they’ll never get 3,000 units for that property by any means.”

Council members Jill Klajic and Howard (Buck) McKeon were out of town Friday and could not be reached for comment.