Santa Clarita Rejects Takeover of County-Run Sewage Districts

Bowing to pressure from business leaders and developers, the city of Santa Clarita has backed away from taking over two county-run sanitation districts that serve most of the Santa Clarita Valley.

The City Council rejected the takeover 3 to 2 late Tuesday after hearing testimony from opponents who feared the move would result in higher sewer fees and give the city a means to control growth in outlying areas.

The defeat of the proposed takeover is the latest in a series of failed efforts by Santa Clarita to gain a greater say in planning matters outside its boundaries.

Critics of the takeover feared that the city would ration sewer hookups or raise fees to control growth in surrounding unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. During the City Council meeting Tuesday, they also attacked Santa Clarita’s ability to efficiently manage the two districts, known as numbers 26 and 32, saying poor service and annual sewage fees higher than the $93 residents now pay would be the result.

“Having watched the city’s management of the Dial-A-Ride service,” which has been the source of many complaints, “our greatest fear is we will only be able to flush on alternate Tuesdays,” said Glo Donnelly, spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Assn. of Realtors.

The takeover proposal foundered when Councilman Carl Boyer III, who originally suggested the move more than four years ago, joined council members Jo Anne Darcy and George Pederson in opposing it late Tuesday.

Boyer said he changed his mind after listening to opponents, including a group from the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce. The chamber, as well as officials of the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Newhall Land & Farming Co. and American Beauty Homes disputed a city study that concluded that Santa Clarita could take over operation of the districts without increasing fees.

“There were just too many people against it,” Boyer said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I’m certainly willing to take flak, but there’s a limit.”

Mayor Jill Klajic, who supported the takeover with Councilwoman Jan Heidt, said she plans to bring the proposal back to the council before her term expires in April, 1994.

The takeover was Santa Clarita’s latest attempt to gain a stronger voice in development matters in parts of the valley outside its borders. In January, a state panel rejected for the second time the city’s bid to gain a sphere of influence in areas now under county control.