COUNTY EXPECTED TO OK PROJECT; TESORO DEL VALLE WOULD ADD 1,791 NEW HOMES.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected today to recommend approval of Tesoro del Valle, a nearly 1,800-home development in San Francisquito Canyon, after more than a year of negotiations with the developer.

The recommendation would give only tentative approval of the project until an official vote is taken, probably in January, said Dave Vannatta, an aide to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. A public hearing is not scheduled.

``They've come in with a design that does everything we asked them to,'' Vannatta said.

Tesoro del Valle, proposed by Evans-Collins Community Builders of Newport Beach, initially faced opposition by the city and area residents concerned about the impact to Santa Clarita roads and services.

The developers originally proposed building 2,502 homes on the 1,795 acres just north of city limits. The county General Plan allows just 1,109 homes.

Now, though, developers have reduced the number of homes to 1,791 for the acreage, known as the Farmer John property, south of the Angeles National Forest.

The proposal also meets other county demands such as less grading on the site and more estate lots rather than urban plots, said John Hartman, a county supervising regional planner.

The northwest portion of the site, for example, originally was proposed to have homes on 6,000- to 8,000-square-foot lots, Hartman said. The plan has been changed, however, and homes in that area will be on one to five acres, he said.

Similarly, developers originally proposed 20,000- to 40,000-square-foot lots for the north end of the property, Hartman said. Now, that area is planned to have homes on one- to five-acre lots, he said.

Antonovich also demanded that grading on the property be reduced by 50 percent, and the developers have met that requirement, Hartman said.

The new proposal is expected to get tentative approval under several items today, including a General Plan amendment, a zone change, a conditional use permit and an oak tree permit to allow the removal of 34 of the 234 oaks on site.

Though some of the agreements needed for the project to proceed had been reached months ago, approval has been delayed because of a variety of issues, including concerns about road improvements, Hartman said.

Under the latest agreement, the developer will contribute the required fees to a bridge and thoroughfare district, Hartman said. But the developer also will contribute $5,000 per housing unit above the required fees, he said.

``With roads, the mitigation is more stringent than what was approved by the (county) Regional Planning Commission,'' Hartman said. ``When you add all these things up, there's a lot of additional money going toward roads.''

The only outstanding issue involves how the additional road money will be spent, but that debate should not delay approval for Tesoro del Valle, Vannatta said.

County Public Works Department officials have proposed using the money to build a road linking Tesoro with the Castaic area, Vannatta said. City officials, however, would like road improvements that would improve traffic flow into the city, he said.

``But that's an issue between the city and the county, not with the developer,'' Vannatta said.

Newhall Ranch not on agenda

Newhall Ranch, the expansive master-planned community proposed for a stretch of land from the Golden State Freeway to the Ventura County line, has been pulled from today's Los Angeles County supervisors agenda.

In July, the board approved a recommendation that has required further negotiations between the developer, The Newhall Land and Farming Company, and interested parties, including the city of Santa Clarita and Ventura County.

Though a formal approval was expected for today's meeting, several agreements are still outstanding. The meeting tentatively has been rescheduled for Nov. 24, but might be continued to Jan. 26.

Newhall Ranch would bring about 21,000 homes and 60,000 people to the Santa Clarita Valley under the proposal currently being discussed.

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