COULD IT GET ANY WORSE? RIVERPARK ENEMIES SAY, YES, NOW THAT NEWHALL LAND SOLD.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The Newhall Land and Farming Company's last large development in Santa Clarita - slated for the banks of the Santa Clara River - promises to pit the two most powerful imperatives of city politics against each other.

The Santa Clarita City Council will be pushed to approve the 1,100-home development because of the tens of thousands of dollars in fees the project is expected to contribute to the Cross Valley Connector, which officials say will relieve congestion throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.

But pulling from the opposite side will be Santa Clarita's environmental community, which is determined to preserve the Santa Clara River and protect the dozens of sensitive and endangered plants and animals that call the natural waterway home.

The announcement last week that Newhall Land had been purchased by Florida-based home builder Lennar Corp. and one of its spinoffs for $990 million added another element to the growing debate over the project, which is to be built on the last large undeveloped swath of land within Santa Clarita city limits.

Environmental activists say they are both encouraged and concerned about what, if anything, Newhall Land's pending sale to the Miami-based companies means for the Riverpark project - and the company's other projects in Santa Clarita, one of the fastest-growing areas in the state.

``My biggest worry is that Lennar does not have a record of protecting the environment, or of being closely tied to the community and their concerns,'' said Lynne Plambeck, president of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment.

Lennar is best known for building Stevenson Ranch, west of Santa Clarita's borders. A lawsuit filed by SCOPE claiming that Lennar improperly channelized Pico Creek and chopped down dozens of oak trees in the third phase of the master-planned community is pending on appeal.

``Riverpark is bound to be worse because it is being built by a national development company that cares even less about Santa Clarita than Newhall Land did,'' Plambeck said.

However, Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer said no one should expect visible, significant changes in the way the company conducts its business once the purchase becomes final, expected in about six months.

``We plan on continuing to implement our vision for Valencia and Newhall Ranch,'' Lauffer said. ``That's what Lennar wants and part of why their offer was so attractive to our company.''

Jon Jaffe, western region president for Lennar concurred, adding that all of Newhall's 120 employees would be retained.

Company officials envision Riverpark as a community focused on the Santa Clara River - the last natural waterway in Southern California. Located on 664 acres in the heart of the city and surrounded on all sides by established neighborhoods, Riverpark would be evenly divided between apartments and houses, with easy access to the nearby Santa Clarita Metrolink Station.

However, environmental activists see a dense development that would threaten wildlife, clog already congested roads and cause their children's schools to overflow.

``I'm worried that the sale of Newhall Land will make it more difficult to preserve the river because it is a larger corporation that might be more politically connected,'' said Teresa Savaikie, a member of several environmental groups.

But Savaikie also wondered whether Santa Clarita residents would be more willing to criticize Newhall Land once it is no longer a local company.

``We'll have to scream a lot louder, but maybe people will be energized once they realize we won't be ruled by the company across the street from City Hall,'' Savaikie said, referring to Newhall Land's Valencia Boulevard headquarters.

Plambeck agreed, saying that residents may not believe that a Lennar- owned Newhall Land will have Santa Clarita's best interests at heart.

``I hope people will look more closely and think twice about giving away their natural resources to a national company,'' Plambeck said. ``Newhall Land tried to keep the aura of a family business, but now they won't be able to keep up the facade.''

Lauffer said that Riverpark would be a sensitively designed community and that Newhall Land would continue to work with environmentalists in a ``gentlemanly manner.''

Santa Clarita Planning Director Jeff Lambert said a study of the project's effect on the environment is ongoing and should be presented to the Santa Clarita Planning Commission in the fall.

Heather MacDonald, [phone]

heather.macdonald(at)dailynews.com