BOXED IN BY BUILD-OUT AS OPEN SPACE SHRINKS, REVENUE BECOMES KEY.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - In a valley once known for its rolling hills Rolling hills are like a mountain chain, only a "hill chain" of hills that roll on and on continually. You will often find them in between plains and mountains, near major rivers, or randomly anywhere. The only places without rolling hills are deserts and flood plains. and wide open spaces, vacant lots are becoming few and far between in this suburb north of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . As growth turns hills and canyons into subdivisions and neighborhoods, the 13-year-old city of Santa Clarita is slowly reaching capacity. Valencia, the commercial heart of the valley, will be complete in 2005. And the communities of Canyon Country, Newhall and Saugus aren't far behind. ``Anyone who has been here since the late '70s can tell you what a change it has been,'' said Jo Anne Darcy, a former mayor and current Santa Clarita councilwoman. ``Wide-open spaces used to be everywhere. Not anymore.'' The implication of this shift goes far beyond the obvious loss of open space and an increasingly urban way of life, city officials said. As the hammers and saws fall silent, the city will be forced to rely more heavily on revenues from sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. to build much-needed roads, parks and to buy up open space as development-related fees shrink, officials said. ``There is no doubt that sales tax will become more important in the coming years,'' said Steve Stark, the city's director of administrative services. But generating additional sales tax revenue is easier said than done. Earlier this month, the City Council rejected plans for 530 homes and a 600,000-square-foot shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into south of the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. , despite predictions that the Golden Valley Ranch mall could create more than $1 million in revenue each year for the city. PacSun LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , the project's developer, has asked county officials to approve its plans. If the project is built and not annexed to the city, as originally proposed, Los Angeles County would reap the revenue to be spread over its sprawling jurisdiction. ``We need new sources of revenue to do all the things that this city's residents want us to do,'' said Councilman Frank Ferry, the sole supporter of Golden Valley Ranch. As PacSun's Allan Cameron Allan Cameron (born 1952) is a Scottish author and translator. He was brought up in Nigeria and Bangladesh. His own works include The Berlusconi Bonus, a dystopian novel set in a future Britain, and The Golden Menagerie. sees it, the city has two options. ``The city needs to increase its sales tax revenue, or expand its borders to include the areas outside the city that are just now expanding and will be paying fees to Los Angeles County,'' Cameron said. The Newhall Land and Farming Company The Newhall Land and Farming Company is a land management company based in Valencia, California, United States. The company is responsible for the master community planning of Valencia, as well as the management of farm land elsewhere in the state. , the area's largest developer, is focusing on its developments beyond the city limits. The company, which built Valencia, plans Valencia II, the 22,000-home Newhall Ranch project as well as the 1,700-home Westridge golf course community and the 2,500-home West Creek
West Creek is a tributary of Delaware Bay in Cape May County, New Jersey in the United States. , said spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer. ``Our Valencia master plan is basically complete,'' Lauffer said. ``We're focused on areas outside of the city.'' Newhall Land opposes the expansion of the city's boundaries west of the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. . Sales tax revenue makes up 36 percent of this year's budget, the biggest chunk of money coming back to the city. Development-related fees make up an additional 9 percent of the city's general fund, and thousands of dollars go directly into separate funds earmarked for road construction and improvements. ``Development-related fees go to cover the cost of providing services for construction; as development slows, the need for those expenditures would slow, too,'' said Barbara Boswell, the city's accounting manager. But the city has long used fees from new developments to pay for current needs, especially roads - leading to a huge disparity, Boswell acknowledged. ``We try to make that up through grants from the state,'' Boswell said. Santa Clarita has been successful at winning grant money from the state. This year alone, the city expects $47 million for a number of different projects. But the need far outweighs available resources, many agreed. Revenues for next year are expected to be flat, with development-related fees dropping $1 million and the economy slowing, the city's budget shows. ``Those fees will never go to zero,'' Stark said. ``As construction of new homes slows, there will be more remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling and the like. But we still need roads, and there will be less money in the general fund.'' The City Council recently spent $30,000 to launch a campaign urging residents to buy a car in Santa Clarita, hoping to boost revenues. Auto dealers are the biggest generator of sales tax in the city, adding $5 million to the coffers. ``We need a solid economic base,'' said Don Fleming Don Fleming is the name of:
The association and Newhall Land have also asked the City Council to install a sign along I-5 to direct motorists to the Town Center Mall Town Center Mall may refer to:
About 75 percent of the city's sales tax revenue comes from Valencia-related businesses, Lauffer said. ``The city needs to focus on sales tax revenue to maintain its standards of living,'' Lauffer said. ``This is one way to do it.'' CAPTION(S): map Map: Santa Clarita Builds Out The city is quickly reaching the ``built-out'' stage, but outlying areas will continue to boom. |
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