COUNTY OKS CREEKSIDE HOMES; CRITICS HOPING TO BLOCK PROJECT.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday formally approved, with conditions, 2,500 homes in the San Francisquito Creek as environmental groups moved to stop The Newhall Land and Farming Company project.

Opponents of West Creek, one of the last subdivisions in Valencia, have claimed there is not enough water in the Santa Clarita Valley to serve the new homes. However, Newhall Land officials said they are confident that there is an ample supply of water for the project.

``This project has been the subject of extensive review and several public hearings,'' said Marlee Lauffer, a Newhall spokeswoman. ``We're confident that these suits are without merit.''

Newhall Land officials can begin construction on the east side of the creek once the 30-day waiting period expires.

That will allow construction to move forward on the new Rio Norte Junior High School and the Decoro Drive bridge, which will link the neighborhoods on the east side of the creek to Valencia High School and the industrial center.

However, the supervisors' decision prevents Newhall Land from beginning construction on the west side of San Francisquito Creek until the Valencia Water Co. can annex it to its service area.

That is complicated by October's California Public Utilities Commission ruling requiring the company to submit additional environmental data on the feasibility of adding several thousand new homes to its territory before expanding.

Project opponents had hoped the supervisors would table the project until the PUC gathered the additional data, said Lynne Plambeck, the first vice president of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment, a watchdog group.

SCOPE has already sued to stop the project, based on its concerns about the Santa Clarita Valley's water supply.

Environmentalists have also claimed that the environmental studies conducted for the project are worthless because of Newhall Land's use of 30 noisemaking machines to prevent the least Bell's vireo, a songbird, and several other endangered species, from nesting during construction.

Last week, the Berkeley-based Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to sue the Army Corps of Engineers for failing to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about their use.

Peter Galvin, an ecologist with the center, said the machines are a violation of the river management plan that covers the Santa Clara River and San Francisquito Creek, and the biological opinion issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

``We believe these species have been driven away and whole generations have been lost,'' said Babak Naficy, the center's lawyer. ``We need to assess what has happened with new studies, and then worry about development.'' However, Lauffer said the state Department of Fish and Game permitted the machines. Project opponents dispute that claim.

``The EIR was completed before the machines were installed,'' Lauffer said. ``This lawsuit is also without merit.''