DEVELOPMENT PLANS BLASTED CRITICS IN NORTH COUNTY SAY THEIR POTENTIAL WOES NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Even as Los Angeles County supervisors have sued to block the 3,050-home Ahmanson Ranch development, they and local officials in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys are considering approval of more than 110,000 new homes.

Combined, these projects dwarf Ahmanson in the amount of traffic they would generate and the open space that would become developed.

Opponents in the north county have seized on the contradiction, and argue that developers and real estate companies have donated more than $280,000 to the supervisors' political campaigns since 2000 to ease their projects through the system.

``It is hypocritical,'' said Ron Bottorff, chair of the Friends of the Santa Clara River, a group fighting the Newhall Ranch project.

``There are impacts of Ahmanson on Los Angeles County. That is not an issue. But 3,000-home projects in the Santa Clarita area are all over the place. I think it's obviously the case that they are fine with developments in Los Angeles County and that's undoubtedly partially due to all the contributions they have received from developers here.''

Both Newhall Ranch developers and Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents the area, say the contributions have had no impact. The need for more affordable housing is the driving force, Antonovich said.

``We have used smart growth procedures to ensure the viability of a self-contained community with Newhall, unlike Ahmanson Ranch, which will shove 81 percent of its projected traffic into Los Angeles County,'' Antonovich said. ``Newhall Ranch will balance jobs and housing, allowing people to work in their communities and not leave the project.''

Los Angeles County has sued Ventura County over the impacts of the Ahmanson Ranch project, while Ventura County has sued Los Angeles County over the impacts of the Newhall Ranch project.

Opponents of Newhall Ranch, which went before the Board of Supervisors last Tuesday, have many of the same concerns - traffic, water and air pollution - that were expressed during the Ahmanson debate.

The 21,615-home Newhall Ranch project, which was reduced Tuesday to 20,885 homes, is seven times the size of the 3,050-home Ahmanson Ranch project.

While Ahmanson would generate 37,540 daily vehicle trips into Los Angeles County, Newhall would generate 334,000 daily vehicle trips. Of those, 52 percent are expected to stay within Newhall Ranch, 38 percent in the Santa Clarita Valley and 10 percent will go outside the valley, including less than 2 percent, or 7,000 daily trips, to Ventura County.

County regional planners estimate Newhall Ranch would increase southbound traffic on Interstate 5 into the San Fernando Valley by 5 percent.

Chad Griffin, vice chair of the anti-development group Save Ahmanson Ranch, said there are many similarities between Newhall and Ahmanson.

``Both destroy sensitive environmental habitat, both threaten endangered species and both are classic examples of urban sprawl,'' Griffin said.

``Both will further crowd our schools, both will further pollute our air and water and both will further impact our traffic on Southern California's most congested freeways and connector roads.

``Both developers have spent hundreds of thousands and, in some cases, millions of dollars to hire public relations consultants, lobbyists and a campaign to not only mislead you, but to mislead the public.''

Newhall Ranch, if it's approved, could be just the beginning of a series of massive developments in the northern portion of the county.

The county supervisors and the Santa Clarita City Council have already granted approval for 40,000 homes that have yet to be built in the Santa Clarita Valley, environmentalists say. Of these, a county Department of Regional Planning analysis found about 7,600 homes in unincorporated areas have been approved since 1997, many of which have not been built yet.

Another developer has filed an application to build the 23,000-home city of Centennial on the sprawling Tejon Ranch Co. property at the top of the Grapevine. Tejon has contributed $7,500 to the supervisors since 2000.

Another developer has filed an application with the Local Agency Formation Commission to annex into the city of Los Angeles the 5,800-home Las Lomas development in the Newhall Pass.

In the Antelope Valley cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, several developments comprising about 19,600 homes are in the works. County documents show another 262 homes are planned for unincorporated parts of the Antelope Valley.

On Tuesday, the supervisors voted to move forward on the Newhall Ranch project, the largest development in county history. It is expected to provide homes for 70,000 people.

On a 4-0 decision, with Yaroslavsky abstaining, the supervisors took steps to mitigate some environmental concerns about the project and ultimately postponed what will likely be the final vote to May 27.

After a series of lawsuits filed against the project since the supervisors first voted on it in 1999, a Kern County court was picked as a neutral body to decide the fate of the project.

The court has ordered the county to address six issues, including a lack of water for the project. Newhall officials say they have recently secured enough additional water from Kern County to support homeowners' needs.

Newhall has also agreed to set aside a 64-acre spineflower preserve amid the 19-square-mile project, which will be built over the next 25 to 30 years. About nine square miles of the project is set aside for open space and high-country areas with trails - an area larger than Los Angeles' Griffith Park, the largest city park in the nation.

Ventura County supervisors say the project would pollute the Santa Clara River - Southern California's last natural river. Newhall opponents have raised concerns about blind thrust earthquake faults under the project and liquefaction zones in the area.

``The entire Southern California area has those features and our geologists at public works have reviewed the geology and soils reports extensively and have determined there there are areas at Newhall where housing can be safely located,'' county regional planner Lee Stark said. ``It won't be built on fault lines.''

Noting this year is the 75th anniversary of the St. Francis Dam disaster, Newhall opponents say an earthquake could rupture dams in the area.

The St. Francis Dam, which was located near Saugus in the San Francisquito Canyon, collapsed on March 12, 1928, killing more than 500 people. It was built by William Mulholland, famous for his role in bringing water to Los Angeles, a story the movie ``Chinatown'' was based upon.

Screenwriter and movie producer Sally Hampton of Windsor Hills compared the Board of Supervisors' current support for Newhall to the early 1900s-era Los Angeles City Council's support for Mulholland's plan to obtain water from the Owens Valley.

``The Chinatown mentality has to stop because we can no longer maintain sprawl that only benefits developers,'' Hampton said.

Newhall Ranch supporters say the project is needed because the county's lack of housing is forcing residents to move out of the area.

Rusty Hammer, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, said the county is expected to grow by the size of ``two Chicagos'' over the next decade and 25,000 homes a year will be needed to meet the demand.

Asked if Newhall's campaign contributions have influenced the supervisors, Newhall spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer said the board is more concerned about the need for new housing.