COUNCIL TAKES TRAFFIC HOT SEAT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD'S GAIN IS ANOTHER'S LOSS.

Byline: Judy O'Rourke Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A developer has jumped from the hot seat but might be replaced there by City Council members when opposing camps of Canyon Country residents vie for support on whether their dead-end streets will be extended to serve the project.

Santa Clarita planning commissioners have recommended approval of a 499-home development in Plum Canyon. Under pressure from residents of Ermine Street - initially slated to be extended to serve the new project - the commission agreed to close their street and force traffic to other outlets.

Now residents from Dorothy Street are angry because their neighborhood street will be extended to Golden Valley Road - an emerging city highway - and they want Ermine to share the load.

``The burden of traffic they don't want to join in with, they will join on our street,'' said Chris Austin, an eight-year Dorothy Street resident.

The Dorothy extension is being built by KB Home for another project north of Brookfield Homes' $100 million development, The Keystone. The Santa Clarita City Council has the final say.

Momentum is building in the contingent from the Dorothy Street neighborhood, including some who appeared at a Jan. 17 city Planning Commission meeting but were cautioned against speaking out on the Ermine issue because the public hearing on the project was closed Nov. 15. They turned in petitions bearing about 239 signatures and voiced frustration at not being officially notified about an issue that directly affects them.

Some residents asked review of policy on notices. A code requires notice signs to be posted in a 1,000-foot radius from proposed projects, and they largely live outside that radius although their street will absorb traffic from the development. In January 2005, the code was amended to increase the notice area from 500 feet to 1,000 feet.

``We receive phone calls and inquiries every day about projects occurring in the city from concerned residents not in the immediate noticing (area,)'' city Planning Manager Lisa Hardy said. ``We add them to our mailing list to be sure they are notified of upcoming meetings. In this particular case, the applicant made an effort independent of the city to engage the larger Whites Canyon neighborhood.''

The residents say they do not oppose the Dorothy extension. They will urge council members to set aside the commission's recommendation on Ermine and, instead, heed city traffic engineers' advice to extend Ermine and reduce congestion on three feeder streets into the neighborhood. In October, senior traffic engineer Ian Pari said Steinway Street ``more than any other'' needs to have some relief. Traffic studies show more than 4,500 vehicles a day travel that residential street.

Pari has said residents perceive a diminished quality of life if more than 2,000 vehicles a day travel along residential streets. Though extending Ermine would mean more cars - from 80 to possibly 2,000 a day - that plan makes sense overall, Pari said in November.

Traffic engineers and planners will attend when the council takes on the issue, Heather Waldstein, an associate planner, said.

Steinway resident Bill Arens plans to alert the council to his neighbors' concerns before the meeting so they have time to consider the information.

``We're not trying to hurt them (Ermine residents), but why should we shoulder all the load?'' he said.

Councilman Bob Kellar said he is looking forward to getting ``up to speed on the traffic patterns involved.

``I am always interested in getting the Planning Commission's perspective on matters,'' he said. ``On a general basis, I'm in alignment with the decision of the Planning Commission. There are exceptions to that as well.''

The project has not yet been placed on the council's agenda.

Mayor Laurene Weste said she needs to go out and walk the property before reaching a decision.

``When you're impacting an existing neighborhood, you really have to look at all the impacts that all the different options cause,'' she said. City officials have discretion over projects within city limits, but some issues caused by growing pains stem from projects outside those boundaries. The KB project is outside the city.

Ermine's counterpart in Saugus is Benz Road, a residential street that became a highway when Copper Hill road opened to Bouquet Canyon Road, a major route for city traffic. Benz now handles 3,300 cars a day. Yi is looking at ways to ease traffic on Benz.

Yi had proposed installing signs to limit peak drive-time turns on Benz and adjacent streets for a four-month trial period. If the approach failed, a back-up plan called for further restricting permissible turns. Kellar said no matter what decision the council arrives at with Ermine or Benz, some folks will end up being disappointed.

Malcolm Dunn, a school crossing guard at Benz Road and Alaminos Drive, said he sees plenty of rolling stops.

Sheriff's deputies frequently monitor Benz now, a road they identify as problematic, said Detective Anthony Arnold.

Benz resident Tony Natoli said for decades he and his neighbors had looked forward to Copper Hill's opening, but now they're wondering.

``What we need to do is not make Benz a desirable cut-through.'' Natoli's take on Benz may resonate with his cross-town neighbors.

``We all have to think beyond my house, my block,'' he said, noting restrictions on his street could increase traffic for his neighbors on other streets.

Judy O'Rourke, [phone]

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Ermine Street residents oppose extending their street to help handle traffic to Plum Canyon, and now Dorothy Street residents are mobilizing to fight the impact on their neighborhood.

(2 -- 3) Dorothy Street, at its current end here, above, will be extended to Golden Valley Road, an emerging city highway, and the Dorothy residents want Ermine Street to share the projected traffic load. Below, Chris Austin holds a satellite photo of her Dorothy Street neighborhood, where residents fear major traffic increases.

David Crane/Staff Photographer