3,000-HOME CANYON PLAN DRAWS CRITICS\City officials object to density, horse lovers decry urbanization.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

In the scrubby hills near her horse ranch, Nancy Fretheim can detect the path of destruction from the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse that killed 450 people.

Now the Saugus resident sees what she perceives as another catastrophe in the making: a 3,000-home development planned for San Francisquito Canyon that she says threatens to alter her rural neighborhood and push her and other horse lovers out of the area.

"Santa Clarita is being systematically gobbled up," the riding instructor said. "I don't want to see this become another San Fernando Valley, which has become known as a concrete jungle."

The Clougherty family and Newport Beach-based T.C. Collins & Associates plan to build Tesoro del Valle (Treasure of the Valley) on 1,800 acres in the canyon just north of the city limits on the Clougherty ranch on San Francisquito Road near Copper Hill Drive.

The project calls for two school sites, nearly 30 acres of parkland and a 5-acre commercial center. A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 24 before the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission.

Tesoro's developers said their project is environmentally sound and would feature a seven-mile horse trail and interpretive center based on Harry Carey Jr., a Saugus-born silent screen Western star.

And despite residents' concerns, developer Timothy Collins said his company cares about the future of Santa Clarita Valley.

"We're representing a family that intends to stay in the area," he said, referring to the Clougherty family, which started Farmer John meat products. "We're not a speculative real estate developer. We believe there's a demand for housing in the valley that's not on the drawing board now."

Santa Clarita officials worry that the project would overburden city streets and schools and increase air pollution in an area already plagued by high ozone levels.

Developers are seeking a zoning change from heavy agricultural to urban use that would feature 2,000 more houses than the county General Plan allows.

"This is approximately three times the amount of density for the site," said Ken Pulskamp, assistant city manager. "Ten thousand people would live there and all these people would have to traverse through the city."

City spokeswoman Gail Ortiz, also referring to the project's density, said, "We're appalled at the lack of environmental concern."

Echoing city officials, residents worry about the project's size, saying it's ill-suited for their rural community marked by rugged mountains and a winding two-lane road.

"The reason people come out to this area is for the rural atmosphere," said Patti Cromer, an Acton resident who teaches riding in San Francisquito Canyon. "Let them live in San Fernando Valley. It's already wrecked."

During the years, residents have watched the area change dramatically. Near the proposed development, Newhall Land and Farming Co. is building 1,700 houses as part of its North Park development.

Some residents say it's only a matter of time before horse ranches disappear altogether from the area.

"The horse people are pushed further and further out," Cromer said. "We're living on borrowed time."

Fretheim also has noticed dramatic changes.

"This used to be a lovely rural atmosphere," the 11-year resident said. "Now I hear radios blaring. Now there's graffiti on the power line poles near the trails."

Neighbors also fear that the developers - now willing to listen to their concerns - will disappear once they receive approval from county officials.

"They don't care about Santa Clarita," Fretheim said. "They don't care about Saugus. They don't care about rural living."

Collins begged to differ, saying the Clougherty family intends to keep a home on the site where a ranch now sits.

City officials said the project would not offer as many benefits as others of comparable size, including the planned 2,900-home Porta Bella development in Saugus.

Porta Bella's developers, Northholme Partners of Marina del Rey, are offering to build $100 million in roads, 91 acres of commercial and industrial land and about 40 acres of parkland. More public benefits, such as grading of 20 acres for a future civic center site, also are included in a proposed development agreement with the city.

The developers of Tesoro del Valle, on the other hand, are offering a 5-acre commercial site, $12 million in bridge and thoroughfare fees for regional road needs and nearly 30 acres of parkland.

Collins said studies show little support for a larger shopping center and that his company is providing more parkland than county law requires.

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Photo Riding instructors Patti Cromer, left, and Nancy Fretheim look over San Francisquito Canyon, where the new homes would fill 1,800 acres. John Lazar/Special to the Daily News