ANTONOVICH VOICES CONCERNS.

Byline: Amy Collins Daily News Staff Writer

Developers of the Newhall Ranch project have a lot of questions to answer before Los Angeles County will approve the massive development, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said Wednesday.

``We don't know at this stage if there is adequate water, schools and roads,'' said Antonovich, whose district includes the Santa Clarita Valley.

Antonovich's comments came a day after the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission asked for more information on the 25,000-home project to be located near the southwest junction of Highway 126 and the Golden State Freeway.

But Marlee Lauffer, the spokeswoman for the developer, The Newhall Land and Farming Company, said most of the information requested by the commission is contained in the company's voluminous environmental reports on the project and just needs to be pointed out.

``There were not any issues that were surprises to us,'' Lauffer said.

In an interview Wednesday, Antonovich echoed many of the concerns raised by project opponents.

Antonovich said Newhall Land needs to show how it will provide water, libraries, schools and other infrastructure to the site. ``You have to have that information before you can review it,'' he said.

In its presentation to the Planning Commission on Tuesday, Newhall Land and its consultants refuted many criticisms of its project - including what Lauffer termed misinformation about geology, water and flood control.

Antonovich said he is unsure how he will vote on the project, which is expected to come to the Board of Supervisors for a vote near the end of the year. ``I can't make an independent decision at this time,'' he said. But he noted that the Planning Commission has a history of making ``substantial reductions'' to projects, so Newhall Ranch may look different by the time it comes to the supervisors for approval.

Antonovich said opponents of the project, including the city of Santa Clarita, should not feel they will be ignored in the review process. ``We will listen to all the concerns, and the county's very proud of the development monitoring system, which the city doesn't have,'' Antonovich said.