Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Group Appeals Condo Project

An environmental group Monday appealed plans to build 752 condominiums east of the Antelope Valley Freeway, just outside Santa Clarita, saying that the project intrudes on the Santa Clara River.

“We think the county definitely needs to take a closer look at its approval of this project,” said Michael Kotch, president of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment.

The Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission approved the project, proposed near the corner of Jakes Way and Lost Canyon Road by G.H. Palmer Associates, last week.

SCOPE appealed the commission’s decision Monday, saying that a protective land berm to be included in the condominium community would narrow the flow of the Santa Clara River.

Lynne Plambeck, SCOPE vice president, said the mound of land will increase the river’s velocity, causing more erosion downstream and reducing the amount of water that can filter into the soil to increase the Santa Clarita Valley’s ground-water supply.

SCOPE leaders say the developer also fails to address the number of additional students who would attend area schools or how it will affect law enforcement.

SCOPE appealed the project’s tract map and, according to Plambeck, will appeal the entire permit for the project once it is known how much that will cost. The fee for the appeal hearing was $260.

The project, to be heard by the Board of Supervisors next month, involves a zone change and an amendment to the county’s General Plan.