Newhall Ranch Project Criticized

Environmental groups protested plans for the Newhall Ranch project near Santa Clarita on Wednesday night, claiming the proposed development for 70,000 people would harm the environment and congest streets and freeways.

“This project is too big, in the wrong place and it constitutes a classic example of urban sprawl and leapfrog development,” said Jan. C. Scow, a land management analyst for the California Native Plant Society.

About 200 people showed up at Valencia High School for the public hearing--reserved for Newhall Ranch opponents--before the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Department.

Proponents of the development spoke at a Planning Commission hearing Oct. 9.

The Planning Commission will be the first agency to vote on the development, but eventually other agencies, including the county Board of Supervisors and the state Department of Fish and Game, will also review various elements of the plan.

During Wednesday’s hearing, several speakers complained that Los Angeles County officials are rushing the approval process, given the size and complexity of the proposed development.

Scott Ellison of the Ventura County Planning Department asked the members of the L.A. County department to extend the public comment period.

“This is an extraordinary project. We simply need more time to study it,” Ellison said.

The request was denied.

Santa Clarita City Councilwoman Jan Heidt called the project’s scope “overwhelming to the city of Santa Clarita. “Right now we have 150,000 people,” she said, noting the huge percentage increase in population the project would bring.

“We know you’re not going to stop it. As a matter of fact, things seem to be hurrying along pretty quickly.”

The Newhall Ranch project calls for 25,000 homes, 10 schools, several shopping centers, a fire station, business parks and a golf course on a 19-square-mile tract between Six Flags Magic Mountain and the Ventura County line.

The development would be made up of five distinct villages linked by a network of trails and roads.

In the past, critics have charged that the development would irreparably damage the Santa Clara River, the largest remaining wild river in Southern California, and impinge on the habitat of two species on the federal endangered list--a bird called the Bell’s vireo and a small fish called the three-spined stickleback.

Executives of the Newhall Land & Farming Co., which owns the property, have said that the company will pay for extensions of Chiquita Canyon Road, Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia Boulevard and San Martinez Grade and the widening of California 126, which would run through the development.

The land is now used primarily for farming and cattle grazing.

In an attempt to blunt earlier criticism of possible environmental damage, as well as the size of the Newhall Ranch project, Newhall officials have said they will set aside 12,000 acres for use as open space, including hiking trails along the Santa Clara River.

The company has also said the project would generate millions of dollars in fees for Los Angeles County and the city of Santa Clarita.

The hearing was continued to Nov. 26.