SANTA CLARITA / ANTELOPE VALLEY : Ritter Ranch and Leona Valley Council Settle Their Differences

The battle between the big developer and the little town is finally over.

After five years, five lawsuits and a great deal of bitter feelings on both sides, the developers of the 7,200-home Ritter Ranch and the Leona Valley Town Council, which vehemently opposed the development, have called a truce.

Both sides got something in the bargain, which was approved by residents of the unincorporated town over the weekend. But the bottom line is that Ritter Ranch is now free to proceed with its project unburdened by court entanglements.

The settlement calls for the dropping of the four lawsuits the Town Council filed over the master-planned community and a suit the developers filed against the council.

Paul Sloane, council vice president, said: “I think it’s a good deal for the community and the developer as well. What we were able to do through this process was achieve more positive things for Leona Valley than we could have going through the court system.

“We gained a tremendous amount.”

Mary Ann Floyd, a former Town Council member, agreed. “We’ve gotten a lot more concessions through this process than probably we would have if we continued the (court) appeals,” she said. “It’s really a win, it really is. Especially when you consider the David and Goliath aspect of it.”

A referendum, results of which were released Monday, show the settlement was overwhelmingly supported by Leona Valley voters, 384-18.

The Town Council is expected to accept the settlement in the coming weeks.

Supporters said the agreement will make the portion of Ritter Ranch within Leona Valley more compatible with the area’s rural character. That’s what they’ve been fighting for from the outset, they said.

Jerry McHale, a resident of Leona Valley for two decades, said he supports the settlement.

“I think it’s fine to get this behind us,” he said. “I think we as a community can now focus our attention on something else.”

Floyd said, “I don’t feel a sense of relief, but I do sense we have done as much as we could humanly do to change the negative aspect of that project. The rest of it is up to God, the economy, the Corps of Engineers or whoever. We have taken it as far as we can.”

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Terms of the agreement, which will be recorded as a deed against the Ritter property, include:

* Limiting the number of homes west of 50th Street West to 1,306, with no apartment or multifamily units allowed.

* Keeping Elizabeth Lake Road, the primary access road to Leona Valley, two lanes rather than the four that were planned. Improvements to the road will include trails and landscaping, but will not require extensive excavation of wetlands. Berms and landscaping will be used in place of cement noise walls, and billboards will be prohibited.

* Limiting street and other lighting to minimize light pollution and prohibiting lighting at the golf course, which is also to be relocated to protect wetlands in the area.

* Restricting fireworks sales and use.

In addition, Ritter Park will give the Town Council $250,000 to cover its legal fees and costs of future regional planning issues. The developer will also provide $35,000 worth of legal services and support the council’s efforts for self-governance.

Ritter Ranch General Manager Peter Wenner said the settlement, which was negotiated over a 15-month period, is in keeping with Ritter’s desire to be a good neighbor.

“No one wins in lawsuits,” he said. “I think the settlement shows we can work together.”

He added: “They’re giving us an opportunity to develop the project in a manner we envisioned it.”

As part of the settlement, the Town Council will waive its right to file suit over any future Ritter Ranch approvals.

“There was concession on both sides and there was give and take on both sides,” Wenner said, noting that construction on the project is slated to begin early next year.

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Three of the council’s lawsuits over Ritter Ranch concerned the environmental impact report prepared for the project and the development’s supposed inconsistencies with Palmdale’s General Plan. A Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Ritter in all three suits, and the Town Council filed appeals.

Another suit which had not been heard questioned the adequacy of the environmental review for the road, sewer, water and other infrastructure improvements made necessary by the development.

Ritter Park filed suit this year against the Town Council and five current and former members, accusing them of waging “a campaign of fraud, deceit, harassment and intimidation designed to stop development of the Ritter Ranch project.” The suit sought more than $3 million in damages.