CITY MULLS ANNEXING 1,000 ACRES; COUNCIL OKS AGREEMENT WITH NEWHALL LAND TO DISCUSS PROJECT.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

City boundaries could expand and further development be approved in Valencia under a plan to annex 1,000 acres to Santa Clarita, including Valencia High School and the NorthPark neighborhood.

The City Council unanimously approved an agreement Tuesday with Valencia Co., a division of The Newhall Land and Farming Company, allowing the parties to discuss the proposal, Planning Manager Jeff Lambert said.

The project will be the second that the city and Newhall Land have worked on cooperatively. The first, called North Valencia, brought land into the city earlier this year that soon will be developed.

``We worked real cooperatively with the city on the first annexation,'' said Marlee Lauffer, spokeswoman for Newhall Land. ``It made sense to work with the city again. The city is very interested in working with us.''

Mayor Jan Heidt said that bringing the land into the city is better than having Los Angeles County officials control development on Santa Clarita's borders.

``Any time we can oversee what is built, that's good,'' she said.

The area is being referred to as North Valencia 2 because it is adjacent to North Valencia, which stretches from Magic Mountain Parkway to just north of Newhall Ranch Road. Projects such as Lago de Valencia, which will include a man-made lake with upscale housing, will be built on that annexed land.

``I think we did an extraordinary job with the lake project, so I'm optimistic about this project,'' Heidt said.

The North Valencia 2 development will include the construction of 2,500 homes and a 250,000-square-foot commercial center, Lauffer said. Specifics about the developments are not yet available, she said.

``The commercial center could include apartment complexes, offices, shopping,'' Lauffer said. ``It would be more neighborhood serving.''

The annexation would also include existing development, such as Valencia High School, NorthPark homes, the NorthPark shopping center and the Plaza Del Rancho commercial center.

If North Valencia 2 receives the necessary approvals, the annexation would be divided in two, with the undeveloped and developed portions proceeding separately, Lambert said. The separation allows any current residents of the area a say in the annexation, he said.

The annexation is appealing to the city because of the commercial centers that generate sales tax money, Lambert said. The revenue should balance the cost of providing infrastructure for homes, he said. As part of the the agreement with the city, Valencia Co. will pay for a fiscal analysis of the impacts to the city.

``Our opinion at this point is that it's a pretty good mix of commercial and homes,'' Lambert said. ``It's at least a wash.''

As part of the agreement, the city will buy buy a portion of San Francisquito Creek for $613,800. Valencia Co. would use the money to develop trails along the creek, and install bank stabilization, rest areas and other features.