CITY REBUTTING ANTONOVICH DISPUTE HEATS UP AGAIN OVER PROPOSED ANNEXATION.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Santa Clarita is contesting Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich's opposition to city plans to annex land along its western borders, another salvo in the ongoing war of words between two government agencies.

City officials said Monday they're drafting a rebuttal to two letters Antonovich's office sent last week to the county Local Agency Formation Commission, which rules on annexation proposals.

Antonovich took positions against Santa Clarita's intent to annex the 1,600-acre Valencia Commerce Center and Lyons Canyon, in part because both proposals have met opposition from local town councils. Also, the properties lie outside the city's ``sphere of influence'' set during incorporation in 1987.

Michael Murphy, Santa Clarita's intergovernmental relations officer, said the city is merely responding to the desires of property owners and has the right to push city limits west of Interstate 5.

``Since incorporation back in 1987, when the initial lines are drawn over the whole valley, there is the thought ... someday, all of it will be within the bounds of Santa Clarita,'' he said. ``But that's not what we're looking at today.''

The city has not filed paperwork with LAFCO to annex either of the properties but intends to submit a request for the Valencia Commerce Center in the upcoming months, he said.

``The supervisor's letters are probably premature,'' Murphy said. ``There isn't anything to talk about from LAFCO at this point. ... We need to clarify what the situation really is.''

``People are coming to us and saying they're interested,'' city spokeswoman Gail Oritz said.

But Antonovich deputy Paul Novak said the city has been actively soliciting businesses in the Valencia Commerce Center - one of the Southland's largest - to leave the county.

``They have been out there wooing tenants,'' he said. ``They have been talking to business leaders. The city has clearly launched a campaign to garner support. ... We think it's entirely appropriate to comment.''

City officials accused Antonovich of altering his past policy of letting property owners decide whether to join a city.

That stance remains, Novak said, but it doesn't apply in these two cases. While some Valencia Commerce Center businesses are considering annexation, the property's majority owner, The Newhall Land and Farming Co., intends to remain with the county.

``Show me one single property owner, because we haven't found them,'' he said.

At Lyons Canyon, county officials said the zoning plans accompanying annexation would make way for dense development in an area that was intended for semirural use.

``That's one property owner,'' Novak said. ``We have a whole lot of interested parties in that one area that are very much opposed. So it's not annexation. It's an annexation of a property for the purpose of developing it.''

The final decision will reside with property owners, Murphy said.

``We're not looking to go out and bring all these areas into the city,'' he said. ``Ultimately, they're going to have to make the decision whether it makes sense to them.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com