CRITICS SPEAK AGAINST PROJECT PLAN WOULD ADD 5,800 DWELLINGS.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

GRANADA HILLS- A large, master-planned community proposed north of the Golden State and Antelope Valley freeway interchange drew fire Thursday night at the project's initial hearing.

Las Lomas - Spanish for ``the hills'' - would carve into the steep terrain of the San Gabriel Mountains to build 5,800 homes and a 2.3-million-square-foot high-tech business park.

Several dozen Granada Hills and Santa Clarita residents expressed a litany of concerns about the project at the public meeting hosted by Los Angeles planners and held at the Odyssey restaurant.

``We would like to register our reservations about this project,'' said Wayne Aller, president of the Knollwood Property Owners Association in Granada Hills.

``Our chief concern is congestion on Balboa Boulevard. It is already unacceptable - this project will make it unbearable.''

Developer Dan S. Palmer Jr., who has built thousands of apartments in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, is looking to have Las Lomas annexed to the city of Los Angeles, despite its proximity to Santa Clarita.

Palmer has described Las Lomas as a ``small town with charm'' that would offer residents an alternative to freeway driving with an internal system of trolleys, and perhaps a new Metrolink train station.

``This will be a self-contained transit-oriented development that will be a gateway to both Los Angeles and Santa Clarita,'' said Jerry Neuman, counsel for the Las Lomas Land Co., the development company.

However, environmentalists and Santa Clarita officials have condemned the project, which they said will mean increased freeway congestion and the loss of the greenbelt that surrounds the Santa Clarita Valley and separates it from the San Fernando Valley.

Located in the Newhall Pass, Las Lomas would bring about 15,000 new residents to the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley, Palmer said.

Palmer wants to annex the project to Los Angeles - or a new San Fernando Valley city, if one is approved by voters in November - to have access to reliable utilities provided by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Los Angeles residents were not affected by the rolling blackouts that swept the state last year during the energy crisis.

In addition, several large projects in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County - such as the 21,600-home Newhall Ranch - have been delayed by concerns over whether there is enough water to serve the rapidly growing Santa Clarita Valley.

Palmer's land development company has paid about $80,000 to two firms to lobby Los Angeles officials about the development, according to Barbara Freeman of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.

An environmental study of the 555-acre project's impact on the surrounding area has yet to begin, according to Los Angeles officials. Preliminary plans call for 16.5 million cubic yards of dirt to be cut in order to create flat pads for development.

Nearly half of the project would remain undeveloped, in order to preserve a wildlife corridor between the Santa Susana and San Gabriel mountain ranges, Palmer said.

Several Los Angeles County officials also criticized the project Thursday. ``This land use is not appropriate,'' said Los Angeles County planner Daryl Koutnik.

``We have many concerns about this project, including air pollution and traffic,'' said Mary Edwards, president of the North Valley Coalition.

Construction would not begin until 2004 at the earliest, Palmer added.

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5,800 HOME PROPOSED