Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Council OKs Redevelopment Commission

More than a year after authorizing a $1.1-billion redevelopment plan, City Council members have now defined much of how it will be governed.

The council Tuesday night approved creation of a nine-person commission whose members will serve two-year terms and receive a stipend yet to be determined. Five members will be appointed by individual council members, and four others are to be chosen by the entire council.

The panel will review proposed redevelopment projects, then pass them along to the City Council for final approval.

Some officials wanted to require projects to obtain majority approval from the commission before they could be heard by the council, giving the panel the authority to block projects.

“If the concern of people is that this council or a future council or (city) staff is going to do something inappropriate, we need to make the commission the recommending authority,” Councilman H. Clyde Smyth said.

“They (commissioners) are not going to be a rubber stamp. We’ve got to give them some teeth.”

Although the requirement appeared to have support of local leaders who have called for maximum public input into the redevelopment plan, it was dropped after City Atty. Carl Newton advised that it was probably illegal to give the commission such broad authority.

“I think giving the commission veto power would be inconsistent with redevelopment law,” said Newton.

Council members authorized the redevelopment plan in February, 1994, to help Santa Clarita recover from the Northridge earthquake, improve its infrastructure, redevelop blighted areas and build affordable housing. Projects would be funded by additional tax income that is generated when property values rise.