Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : 2,020-Acre Annexation Clears Way for Housing Development

Houses may be under construction in the 5,200-unit City Ranch development in west Palmdale as early as next year, representatives of Kaufman & Broad Home Corp. said Friday.

The City Council approved annexation of the 2,020-acre site where the project is planned without discussion Thursday. It was Palmdale’s first annexation since November, when the council approved its largest-ever addition--the 11,000-acre Ritter Ranch property.

Located adjacent to one another, City Ranch and Ritter Ranch will add 12,400 housing units and more than 30,000 residents to Palmdale.

The two master-planned communities, however, generated vastly different levels of interest from residents.

Public debate on Ritter Ranch lasted dozens of hours in hearings held over a period of months. Three lawsuits have been filed over the Ritter Ranch project. The City Ranch generated no controversy.

Pete Petersen, vice president of planning and development for Kaufman & Broad, said the builder is preparing to submit tentative tract maps for areas within City Ranch to the Palmdale Planning Department.

How soon paper plans are carried out is a function of the economy, he said, noting Kaufman & Broad is keeping busy selling houses in several Antelope Valley tracts.

Besides 5,200 homes, plans for City Ranch call for 42 acres of commercial development, nearly 160 acres of parks, several school sites and hundreds of acres of open space.

The project is expected to be under construction for about two decades.

In another action Thursday, the City Council approved the annexation of a 308-acre “county island”--an area surrounded by the city but under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County.

The island is generally located north of Palmdale Boulevard, south of Avenue Q, east of 25th Street East and west of 37th Street East. The area, with a population of nearly 2,200, is developed with about 800 single-family homes, commercial centers and an elementary school. There is some vacant property within the area.

Officials said the annexation of the island would allow the city to help “square up” its boundaries.