CAREY RANCH TO CHANGE HANDS APPROVAL OF COUNTY DEAL EXPECTED SOON.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A deal to transfer one of the region's first location filming sites from developers to Los Angeles County is expected to be approved this week, along with a $10,000 donation to help operate the historic monuments there.

Harry Carey Ranch, tucked in a corner of San Francisquito Canyon and surrounded by the new 1,500-home Tesoro Del Valle development, was to be restored and opened to the public as part of a deal between developers SunCal Companies and Montalvo Properties, and the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.

The historical society signed an agreement in 1993 with Montalvo to take over the Carey property eventually and to maintain and operate the site using money from a homeowners association. The property was never transferred, and, in 2003, Montalvo canceled the agreement, according to the historical group.

But on Tuesday, Los Angeles County supervisors are expected to approve a deal that would include opening the ranch to the public and accepting a $10,000 donation by the operators of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill near Val Verde.

``It is currently owned by the developer and they have done a tremendous amount of restoration on it,'' said Paul Novak, planning deputy for county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, ``Assuming that all the conditions are met, it is expected to be approved. The (county Department of) Parks and Recreation has been working closely with developers on the design.''

The Harry Carey property is a series of five ranch buildings, some of them adobe. Carey and his family moved to the property in 1916 and lived there off and on for about two decades. Most of the original structures, however, were destroyed by the St. Francis Dam collapse of 1928, and a fire a few years later destroyed the main house, according to published reports.

Carey was one of the first film actors to settle in the Santa Clarita Valley, and his ranch among the first used for filming old Westerns.

The structures were in need of repair, and the historical society's hope has been to open the site for public tours.

County officials believe once the transfer is complete, the historic site will become a beacon for education.

``I would say it's good news for all of Los Angeles County,'' Novak said. ``This is certainly not just a benefit for the Santa Clarita Valley, but I think this is a facility of enough significance that will attract schoolchildren from all over. It clearly is a regional monument in the same sense that people go to visit California's missions.''

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com