COUNCIL REJECTS SELF-STORAGE RULES.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The City Council rejected an ordinance Tuesday that would have prevented self-storage facilities from locating on Santa Clarita's main roads, because of opposition from business owners.

Several owners of the self-storage facilities told the council that the new rules would have hurt their businesses and reduced the values of their properties.

``(This ordinance) condemns the small-business owner - the little guy - to a long, slow financial death,'' said Cathy Becker-Skaggs of Newhall Valencia Mini Storage.

Under the ordinance, businesses would have had to obtain a more restrictive conditional-use permit from the Santa Clarita Planning Commission and would have been limited to industrial and commercial areas of the city, shielded from the city's main thoroughfares.

``That is an onerous, expensive and time-consuming process, and that's wrong,'' said Ted Doniguian of Private Mini Storage Ltd.

Santa Clarita planning officials met last week with the business owners at the request of the City Council to explain the impact of the proposed rules, which would have applied only to new businesses and significant expansions of existing facilities.

There are 43 self-storage and moving businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley, and most are located on the city's major thoroughfares, such as San Fernando Road and Lyons Avenue, records show.

The changes were proposed by Councilman Bob Kellar, a former planning commissioner, who has described the facilities as a blight on local neighborhoods and a hindrance to economic development.

Keller will work with Councilwoman Laurene Weste on a council subcommittee that will revamp the ordinance.

The new rules would have also required businesses to feature more landscaping and better architectural design, as part of the city's beautification plan.