Suit Over Auto Mall Is Settled
Developer Newhall Land & Farming Co. has settled a lawsuit with environmentalists who contended that its plans to expand a Santa Clarita auto mall would harm the Santa Clara River.
Under the settlement, which was signed Monday, Newhall will proceed with the expansion of the auto mall on Valencia Boulevard. But it will also donate $25,000 to help restore a wetlands area on nearby Bouquet Creek, give $25,000 to an endowment for biology students at Cal State Northridge and install an informational kiosk about the river system, said Lynne Plambeck, president of, Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment, the plaintiff.
The suit claimed that the expansion of the riverside project would alter the habitat of the endangered arroyo toad and create other environmental hazards.
SCOPE and the Center for Biological Diversity filed an appeal after losing their case in Los Angeles Superior Court in May.
Many Santa Clarita parents have supported the auto mall expansion because it included plans to improve nearby baseball and softball fields.
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