Newhall’s Other Project Builds Momentum

Stalled for much of this decade by a lawsuit, and overshadowed by the massive Newhall Ranch project a few miles away, another controversial hillside development is slowly working its way toward approval by Los Angeles County authorities.

Newhall Land & Farming Co.’s Westridge development--with 1,712 homes and a PGA-worthy golf course--has been scaled down considerably since first proposed in 1992 and is less than one-tenth the size of the proposed Newhall Ranch.

Still, the Westridge project continues to draw the opposition of environmentalists, slow-growth advocates and some neighbors who worry about its effect on the area’s sensitive ecology.

In an unincorporated area west of the Golden State Freeway between McBean Parkway and Valencia Boulevard, Westridge is under review by the County Planning Commission. If approved by the commission and the Board of Supervisors, it would be built in part in a county-designated significant ecological area marked by valley oaks and savannah grasses.

Despite assurances from the developer that Westridge was designed to preserve the natural surroundings as much as possible, opponents say the project will irrevocably harm one of Southern California’s most fragile habitats.

“This area is like a gateway for Los Angeles. Thousands of people drive by every day, and it’s like a big sign saying ‘Los Angeles has beautiful places too,’ ” said Lynne Plambeck, a member of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment.

“It creates an ambience, a view in people’s minds of what our community stands for.”

SCOPE sued the county in 1992 after Newhall Land’s original Westridge proposal was approved by both the County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. In a decision that was claimed as a partial victory by both sides, a Superior Court judge ruled in 1993 that the county had faithfully followed its policy with regard to protecting environmentally sensitive areas but halted the project on the grounds that the county failed to adequately address air quality, school and library issues.

In the years since, Newhall Land has resolved those issues by obtaining approval from the South Coast Air Quality Management District and by signing agreements with the local school and library districts that provide money for new facilities, said company spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer. Newhall Land also redesigned the 798-acre project with 178 fewer homes and less development in the SEA, Lauffer said.

“We feel we have come up with a project that is environmentally superior to the previous plan,” Lauffer said. “There is less acreage and housing units, removal of fewer oaks and a better plan for the preservation and management of the SEA.”

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The project would include an array of houses, including apartments, townhomes and single-family residences and a championship-level public golf course that Lauffer said would draw professional tournaments and provide an economic boost to the community. Dave Vannatta, planning deputy for county Supervisor Mike Antonovich, said county rules permit development in SEAs as long as it has minimal impact on the environment.

“The idea is to do all you can to protect the resource,” Vannatta said. “It’s private property; you just can’t go in there and tell them not to build anything.”

But SCOPE President Mike Kotch said building a golf course in the SEA would have a profound effect on the area’s ecology. “Newhall Land has the idea that the only habitat is oak trees resting on hillsides. This habitat is a home for biotic communities,” Kotch said. “It’s going to be replaced by a Disneyland picture of what Newhall Land wants the site to look like.”

Kotch said that although SCOPE might not be able to prevent Westridge from being built, the group will continue to push Newhall Land and the county for additional changes that would make the development more acceptable.

“There will already be a lot of oaks taken out because they are not in the SEA,” Kotch said. “The compromise should be that [Newhall Land] stay out of the SEA.”

In a related issue, a Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruling earlier this month in a lawsuit filed by SCOPE against the city of Santa Clarita. The judge rejected SCOPE’s claim that a city environmental impact report did not take into account damage to oak trees in the SEA that would be caused by an expansion of the Old Road.

Newhall Land considers the Old Road expansion, which would cut through Westridge, an important element of the project.

Kotch said SCOPE is likely to appeal that decision, as well as county approval of Westridge in its current form.

While SCOPE has taken the lead in opposing Westridge, the city of Santa Clarita and community members have expressed concerns about the project too.

Santa Clarita Planning Manager Jeffrey Lambert said the city has not taken a formal position on Westridge but has met with Newhall Land officials to try to minimize effects of the development on the environment and city infrastructure.

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Self-described “San Fernando Valley escapee” Lorrie Baldwin, a member of the Stevenson Ranch Town Council, said she is not opposed to Westridge but would like to see it built outside the SEA. “The SEA is a beautiful piece of property that should be preserved,” Baldwin said. “Why designate a significant ecological area and then build in it? It doesn’t make sense.”

Both Kotch and Lambert praised the Planning Commission for taking a more critical view of Westridge than when the initial project was approved six years ago. “They are asking some serious questions. They seem to be more responsible than prior commissions,” Kotch said. “As far as the outcome, though, we still don’t know.”

Meanwhile, the commission will hold another hearing on Westridge on Nov. 2 and is expected to reach a decision on the project by the end of the year. Lauffer said that if the project is approved, Newhall Land could be selling homes in Westridge by early 2001.

“We feel we have answered all the questions that have been asked of us,” she said.