Extension to Study Development Denied

Ventura County has lost its bid for more time to review the environmental impact report on the massive Newhall Ranch housing development planned in neighboring Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles County Planning Commission ignored the extension request during a public hearing Wednesday night on the project, which would transform a 19-square-mile tract of ranchland on the county line into a community of 70,000 residents.

Ventura County officials appealed to the commission last month for more time to file a written response to the project’s environmental report. Officials had asked that the Dec. 5 deadline be pushed back to Feb. 5.

Representatives of Newhall Land & Farming, the developer of the project, argued that the county has had ample time to review the project, noting that the public review period has already been extended twice.

But Tom Berg, director of the county’s Resource Management Agency, said the county needed more time given the enormity of the project.

“The reality is that this is a major development,” he said. “It’s bigger than most cities in Ventura County. There are a lot of things that need to be looked at, a lot of questions that need to be asked.”

Berg said the county will have to “get into overdrive” in order to have its written response ready before next month’s deadline.

During Wednesday’s hearing, several speakers joined Ventura County in complaining that Los Angeles County officials are rushing the approval process, given the project’s size and complexity.

Santa Clarita City Councilwoman Jan Heidt said the project and its 70,000 new residents could overwhelm the city of 150,000.

“We know you’re not going to stop it,” Heidt said. “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.