Santa Clarita Gains Influence in New Poll : Planning: The city commissioned a second survey in its quest to expand areas eligible for annexation.

Residents of outlying communities in the Santa Clarita Valley want to be included in the city of Santa Clarita’s sphere of influence, according to poll results released Tuesday that contradict those of an earlier survey.

City officials will use the latest poll results to bolster their bid to extend their influence over a 160-square-mile area that includes Castaic, Val Verde and Stevenson Ranch, city spokeswoman Gail Foy said. The sphere defines the area of unincorporated county territory eligible for annexation by the city.

The city paid David Puzo & Associates $6,750 to conduct a telephone survey after officials rejected the results of a survey by city planners in October. The first survey was mailed to 4,000 residents, but only 693--about 17%--returned it. Of those, 57% opposed inclusion in the sphere, 34% supported it and 9% had no opinion.

In the latest survey, pollsters randomly selected 422 residents and interviewed them over the phone late last month. Of those, 49% supported the sphere of influence, 31% opposed it and 20% were undecided. The overall margin of error was about 5%.

Foy said the city plans to conduct a campaign to persuade undecided residents to support the city’s bid. “We see the undecided as a window of opportunity,” Foy said.

But city officials fear that the large percentage of undecided residents may sway the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission to vote against the request after a public hearing is held Jan. 27.

In the past, LAFCO has been reluctant to grant the city a large sphere of influence.

Opponents of Santa Clarita’s request criticized the latest survey, saying the questions were skewed to obtain favorable results.

“The point is they were determined to keep on doing surveys until they got the results they wanted,” said Gerald Barnes, a member of the Castaic Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.

But Foy said the 17-part questionnaire was drawn up after pollsters met with both local business leaders, who oppose inclusion in the sphere, and with slow-growth activists, who support it.

Survey Results

Residents of outlying communities in the Santa Clarita Valley were polled as part of the city of Santa Clarita’s bid to expand its sphere of influence, which defines the area of unincorporated county territory eligible for annexation.

Sample Not Not Community size Favorable favorable decided % error Total survey area 422 48.7% 31.4% 19.9% 4.8% Castaic 291 44.3% 34.0% 21.6% 6.4% Stevenson Ranch 40 55.0% 22.5% 22.5% 15.0% Val Verde 42 45.2% 35.7% 19.0% 15.0%

Source: City of Santa Clarita