As the biggest housing development in Los Angeles County history moves closer to reality, the nearby city of Santa Clarita is looking for more say in that and other projects in its vicinity. The city will go to the Local Area Formation Committee in the coming months to push for more influence over future developments in the Santa Clarita Valley and a louder voice when it comes to the county approval process. City officials are asking that the regional land agency grant Santa Clarita what’s known as a sphere of influence over a portion of the Santa Clarita Valley that would be nearly twice the size of the current city limits. “We’re asking for a place at the table (on future growth),” said Santa Clarita Planning Director Jeffrey Lambert. “The sphere puts a line on the map, giving the ultimate boundary for the city.” Santa Clarita has proposed that the sphere extend from the border of Los Angeles on the south, west to the Ventura County line and bounded on the north and east by the Los Padres and Angeles National Forests. The sphere would include the largest development in the area, Newhall Land Co.’s proposed Newhall Ranch, a planned development of 22,000 homes on the border of Ventura County. Lambert says the sphere would allow the city to enforce stricter requirements on developers outside city limits, while also allowing the city to plan for future growth. After all, those areas are likely to eventually become part of Santa Clarita, city officials argue; many outlying areas that were once unincorporated have already been annexed by the city, leaving Santa Clarita taxpayers struggling to pay for street, sidewalk and other infrastructure improvements required by city codes. Not surprisingly, Santa Clarita is facing considerable opposition from Newhall Land, the area’s biggest landowner and developer, which has twice thwarted the city’s push for a sphere of influence in the last decade. “We have the same position we’ve always had,” said Marlee Lauffer, spokeswoman for Newhall Land. “We believe the historical boundary between the city and county is the 5 Freeway, and we’re not interested in initiating any annexation west of the freeway.” Newhall Land has already sent a letter to LAFCO formally opposing the sphere. Lauffer said the company views a sphere of influence as an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. “There’s already a strong working relationship between the city and county,” Lauffer said. City officials admit that most developers consult with them before moving through the county development process. And the city and county are working on a joint master plan that would guide future growth in the entire valley. But a sphere of influence, while not giving them a formal place at the development table, would at least allow them to stand in the background and propose recommendations. “Clearly it gives them a voice,” said Larry Calemine, executive director of LAFCO. The California Legislature mandated that cities consider a sphere of influence in the late 1980s, Calemine said. The sphere is supposed to be based on “logical growth boundaries” and serve as a guide to future annexation. For that reason, the decision must take into account the views of landowners in the proposed area. Calemine said the decision process will take three or four months. LAFCO has begun reviewing the proposal and will soon set a public hearing date. “I suspect by the time we’re finished, there’ll be an adjustment to the boundaries and so on and so forth,” Calemine said. City officials acknowledge their chances of gaining a sphere are slim. Not only does Newhall Land oppose it, LAFCO has twice denied similar requests for a sphere of influence in the past, the last time in 1994. If the city gets approval for an extended sphere, it could help with future annexation. Since incorporation in 1987, Santa Clarita has annexed 19 different areas and several more are seeking to be added, including Stevenson Ranch, a housing development south of Santa Clarita that would be covered by the proposed sphere. Keith Pritsker, a Stevenson Ranch resident spearheading the push for annexation, said he and others would like the city to get a sphere of influence as a way of gaining more local control over county development. “Stevenson’s Ranch is still growing quite a bit,” Pritsker said. “What happens in the future and how development occurs is important to residents. Ideally, the way (a sphere) should be done is when a developer has a project next to Santa Clarita, the County of L.A. should say to the developer, ‘Go to the city and if they’re interested, pursue annexation and have the development approved through the city.'” But Aaron Clark, interim planning deputy for Supervisor Mike Antonovich, said a sphere wouldn’t change the current approval process. “The county really in the last two years has improved its relationship with the city,” Clark said. “There’s a perception out there that there’s some disconnect that isn’t there. A lot of coordination is already happening and the sphere would change little.”
