COUNCIL DELAYS HIKE IN STUDENT BUS FARES.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Teens going to and from school will hang on to a quarter more, at least for the time being.

The City Council voted Tuesday to delay the final phase of a two-part fare increase for students on Santa Clarita Transit until the William S. Hart Union High School District raises the cost to ride the school bus.

However, beginning in August, young people will pay 75 cents - up from 50 cents - to hop the bus. The second phase of the increase would add 25 cents.

Also in August, the standard fare will increase to $1 to offset rising fuel and salary costs, while the cost for seniors and the disabled will rise to 50 cents.

The last systemwide fare hike was in 1993, although youth fares and Dial-A-Ride services jumped in 1996.

``We believe this is the maximum increase that would be fair and reasonable while not impacting ridership,'' said city Transportation and Engineering Services Director Tony Nisich.

Santa Clarita Transit's fares are still among the lowest in Los Angeles County, Nisich said. The system has shown several months of double-digit increases in ridership, he added.

Also at its Tuesday meeting, the City Council voted unanimously to fight a lawsuit filed by environmentalists that is holding up grading in San Francisquito Creek.

Members of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment picketed outside the meeting, saying they opposed the use of tax dollars to help The Newhall Land and Farming Company, the developer of the planned 2,500-home West Creek project, which includes the Decoro Drive Bridge and the planned Rio Norte Junior High School.

``The perception of this community is that this council is pro-Newhall Land,'' said Berta Gonzalez Harper, a Canyon Country resident. ``By taking this action, you lend credence to that perception.''

The city's petition to intervene in the lawsuit will address only the need for the junior high school and the road, city attorneys said. School overcrowding has reached a crisis, and the road is a vital part of the city's transportation plan, the council members agreed.

Finally, the City Council also approved an ordinance that places strict restrictions on stores that sell water pipes and other devices used to smoke tobacco and illegal drugs.

The ordinance, which was passed unanimously, was drafted after parents complained about two such ``head shops'' in Canyon Country. It would require new stores planning to stock more than a small shelf of these devices to get a conditional use permit from the city's Planning Commission.

``This paves a way for other government agencies to take a stand on these issues,'' Councilman Frank Ferry said. ``We have a community standard that helps teens reach their potential.''