DEVELOPMENT MONITORING PLAN SOUGHT\Council to help design system to measure impact on services.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

Seeking to quell demands for a formal development monitoring system, the City Council will take a first step Tuesday toward designing one, requiring developers to offset the effects of population growth on roads, libraries, schools and other public services.

The council is expected to direct city staff to solicit opinions from the public and determine what vacant land is available for development in the city.

The issue caught the council's attention after it received a Jan. 21 letter from Michael Kotch, president of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment, an activist group that monitors development. SCOPE has accused city officials of being slow to adopt a monitoring system and thus leaving the city vulnerable to stress from new development and to lawsuits from those worried about protecting public services.

"Residents are suffering now," said Lynne Plambeck, SCOPE's first vice president. "We have overcrowded schools and no books in our libraries. The idea (behind a development monitoring system) is that new development should pay for itself."

But Planning Director Rich Henderson said city officials still are collecting data on infrastructure and finances that would provide a foundation for a system.

"How can you charge developers now when you don't even know what the city needs?" Henderson said.

The city's 5-year-old general plan calls for a development monitoring system, including a computerized assessment of development's impact on water, sewers, schools, libraries, fire protection and roads.

Under a formal system, developers would pay fees or give assets of comparable value, such as land, to offset impacts on those six public services from residents of new homes.

The city has no formal monitoring system, but uses a development review process to screen each project individually. City planners visit each proposed site and scrutinize each project for compliance with city codes and the California Environmental Quality Act, which requires environmental impact reports for large projects.

Los Angeles County adopted its monitoring system in 1989 after facing a lawsuit over the impact of new development on public services.

Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy said she is hesitant to adopt a formal system because it would hamper ability to negotiate for added benefits.

Darcy said she wants a flexible system that could be superceded for greater benefits.

"I want some latitude in it so we could have alternatives," Darcy said. She cited as an example the city's agreement with Porta Bella's developers to exchange library fees for eight acres for public buildings near the 2,900-home project.

Councilwoman Jan Heidt, who is seeking re-election next month, said she favors a formal development monitoring system.

"It would make us consistent with the county," Heidt said, adding, "It would codify the benefits to be derived from developers."

The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. at City Council chambers at 23920 Valencia Blvd.

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Photo (color) Darcy