County Panel to Tour Site of Proposed Center

A county planning panel will tour the site of a proposed Santa Clarita Valley shopping center that would rival the size of many regional malls before recommending whether it should be built.

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning on Wednesday delayed making a recommendation on the Valencia Marketplace project until Feb. 2, allowing time for the commissioners to tour the 84.5-acre property just west of the city of Santa Clarita between McBean Parkway and Pico Canyon Road. The Board of Supervisors has the final say over whether Riley/Pearlman/Mitchell Co. may build the 850,000-square-foot center.

The project, which would be larger than Santa Clarita’s year-old regional mall, would be an open-air center anchored by large discount stores and supplemented by more than 35 smaller retail shops.

Concerned about increased crime and traffic as a result of the project, the city of Santa Clarita is asking the county to give it 80% of the center’s estimated annual sales-tax revenue to help pay for additional policing and other services. The Planning Commission Wednesday said it will be up to the supervisors to decide whether to share the tax proceeds with the city.