Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Palmdale Looks to Expand Boundaries in Bid to Attract College : Development: Council members initiate the process to add a 900-acre site, but the plan is drawing concerns.

The City Council has voted unanimously to begin the process of expanding Palmdale’s boundaries to include a 900-acre site where a new community college campus may be built.

But the plan triggered mixed reactions at Wednesday night’s meeting from residents who said they fear the college will bring traffic problems and high-density urban development to their rural area southeast of the city.

Residents’ concerns stemmed from a developer’s offer to donate 100 acres in the annexation area for the college campus if the city approves his plan to build a golf course, retail center and about 1,000 homes near the college.

Council members said they are eager to see construction of an Antelope Valley College branch campus in Palmdale. But they also vowed to move cautiously on overall development in the proposed annexation area.

“This is only an initiating action,” Mayor Jim Ledford said. “The review of that project is yet to come.”

The council voted only to submit an application to the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission, which reviews city boundaries changes. The application will cover 900 acres of unincorporated land south of Pearblossom Highway and west of 47th Street East.

The annexation was requested by businessman David P. Bushnell, founder of the binoculars company that bears his name. Bushnell owns 540 acres in the proposed annexation area. The remaining 360 acres were included to connect Bushnell’s property to the current city border.

Bushnell has offered to donate 100 acres for a college if the city annexes his property and approves his development plan for the land adjacent to the campus.

The annexation hinges first on a property tax transfer agreement, which must be approved by the Palmdale City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Then, the agency formation commission’s seven-member board, which includes two county supervisors, will conduct a hearing and vote on moving the land from the county into Palmdale.

If the commission’s board approves the plan, the City Council will conduct another hearing, during which 25% of the annexation area’s property owners or registered voters could object and force an election on the proposal.

Palmdale officials said no one living in the annexation area has filed a written objection. But at Thursday’s meeting, several people who live nearby said they were worried that city officials will destroy the rural character of the area.

“You’re just going to ride roughshod over the people who live in that area just because you want a college,” resident John Maurer told the council. “It’s going to bring traffic like you wouldn’t believe.”

Council members responded that an environmental impact review of Bushnell’s project still must be done, and that the development plan, including the number of houses that can be built, still must be approved.

“This is not a done deal,” Mayor Ledford said. “I think we need to keep that in mind.”

Councilman David Myers said he favors the annexation because he does not want “to do anything to hamper our ability to get a college there.” But Myers also said he wants development near the college to be “something that is very much in harmony with what’s going on in that area now.”