Planners Approve 460-Unit Newhall Land Project

The Newhall Land & Farming Co., which is seeking approval for its 25,000-unit Newhall Ranch project, won a smaller victory Wednesday when the Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the company’s 460-unit Decoro Highland project.

The Decoro project will now go before the county Board of Supervisors for final review and may be considered as early as the board’s Sept. 23 meeting, said George Malone, a regional planner who has overseen the Decoro project in the public review process.

Dwarfed in size by the massive Newhall Ranch project, Decoro Highlands is nonetheless important in the feud between the William S. Hart Union High School District and Newhall Land.

The school district is opposing both projects for the same reason, saying Newhall Land has not offered to pay its fair share of the cost of additional schools for the children that the developments would house.

Before Wednesday’s vote, school district officials told the Planning Commission that more time was needed to properly review the project and asked that they be allowed to voice their objections during the proceeding. The commission denied the request.

District officials said the Planning Commission’s decision to approve Decoro establishes an alarming precedent in their fight against Newhall Ranch.

“We feel like David and Goliath and we’re looking for a stone,” said Robert C. Lee, superintendent of the Hart District, adding that another problem was “figuring out who Goliath is, the county or the developer?”

Marlee Lauffer, spokeswoman for Newhall Land, said Decoro Highlands will be a well-planned community. She said Newhall Land is very supportive of schools.

“We are hopeful we will reach an agreement with the school district on all of the homes that remain in [both Decoro and Newhall Ranch] projects,” Lauffer said. “These discussions are ongoing.”