Newhall Ranch Opponents Attack Report

Opponents of Newhall Ranch, the proposed housing development that would be the largest in Los Angeles County history and sit just outside Ventura County’s eastern border, denounced a report released Thursday that concludes the massive project would not significantly increase traffic or flooding threats.

The Los Angeles County Planning Department report also said the area is no more prone to earthquakes than any other in the region.

Russ Baggerly, a board member with the 600-member Environmental Coalition of Ventura County, dismissed the report as “utter fantasy.”

“They’re looking at the potential for income from increased property taxes and developers fees . . . and turning a blind eye to what’s going on in their own county,” he said. “All they have to do is look at their county to find out where they’ve been--it’s more of the same--it’s what drives people out of L.A. County to find some small portion of sanity in other areas.”

Opponents of the planned community in the Santa Clarita Valley near Magic Mountain also complained that despite several public hearings before the county Regional Planning Commission during the past five months, the report is virtually identical to the development’s environmental impact report, which was completed last year.

“I think it’s a big zero,” Lynn Plambeck said. “They just go around the issues without actually addressing them.”

Lee Stark, the county official charged with overseeing the project, said there was little new information in the report because planning commissioners heard little compelling new information during the public comment period.

“The reason there are so few significant changes is that the [public] testimony for the most part was repetitious,” Stark said. “The bottom line is that they just don’t want anything built there.”

Opponents agree, but maintain their staunch opposition doesn’t mean the far-reaching environmental effects of the Newhall Land & Farming Co.’s master-planned housing development should be glossed over.

Over a 25-year period, Newhall Ranch would house 70,000 people in about 25,000 apartments, townhomes, condominiums and luxury homes between the Golden State Freeway and the Ventura County line.

Opponents contend the project would wreak havoc on local traffic, the environment and water supplies. Further, they claim the area is prone to dangerous landslides after earthquake activity.

Newhall Land has maintained the development is safe and a necessity because population projections predict Los Angeles County will need 26,000 new homes by 2010.

Marlee Lauffer, a spokeswoman for Newhall Land, said company officials had not finished reading the 25-page report by late Thursday.

Los Angeles County officials said the report responds to several issues raised by Ventura County residents. Ventura County, however, is not mentioned at all in sections dealing with flood control, and the report’s discussion of traffic issues is restricted to those affecting Los Angeles County.

“If it were to go through it would mean the end of the Santa Clara River Valley as an agricultural valley, and that’s a huge impact on Ventura County,” Ojai Valley farmer Jim Churchill said.

Stark said officials in both counties continue to discuss whether the project falls into Ventura County’s jurisdiction. One parcel included in the development extends into Ventura County--though that portion would remain vacant.

The report stated that several other controversial issues--including further studies on earthquake fault zones--would be decided later and placed in the project’s final environmental impact report once it is approved. Moreover, the development does not need to show there will be an adequate water supply for residents until after the project is approved, the report said.

Portions of the project are subject to approval by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and various state and federal agencies. A public hearing on the project is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Hall of Records, 320 W. Temple St.