Removal of 105 Oak Trees Was Contemptible
* My sympathies go out to Lynne Plambeck and the members of SCOPE over the removal of 105 oak trees in preparation for the latest shopping center to sprout at the fringes of Santa Clarita.
The manner in which Newhall Land & Farming Co. conducted the removal of these trees--a rapid assault--while SCOPE was still going through an appeals process, was utterly contemptible. The justifications provided by Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer (“we have all the appropriate permits”) only demonstrate the sheer determination of Newhall Land to pursue their bottom line.
But to get a real grasp of the cynicism of Newhall Land business practices, one has only to look at their involvement with the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. Newhall Land owns that land and leases it to Laidlaw Co., which operates the facility. Newhall Land gets a portion of the dumping fees from every load of trash and sewage dumped at Chiquita. If the proposed tenfold increase in capacity is approved, they stand to rake in additional millions.
All this trash and sewage will be immediately adjacent to the future city of Newhall Ranch, the future crown jewel in Newhall Land’s never-ending development of the Santa Clarita Valley.
Newhall Land & Farming Co.’s stance is very clear: “We own this valley. We can do whatever we want.”
DAVID EMERSON
Val Verde
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