JUDGE BLOCKS BRIDGE RULING TO LAST AT LEAST UNTIL APRIL HEARING.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A Ventura County judge issued a temporary restraining order this week to halt construction of the Decoro Drive bridge over San Francisquito Creek.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Frederick H. Bysshe's decision marked a victory for the environmental group SCOPE and a setback for The Newhall Land and Farming Company, which plans 2,500 homes in West Creek, along with the bridge and the proposed Rio Norte Junior High School.

Construction already has been put on hold because the Public Utilities Commission must conduct an environmental review to assess whether there is enough water available to serve the new houses.

Kate Neiswinder, the lawyer for the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment, said the ruling came as a surprise. The group filed suit in Ventura County because farmers there rely on water that flows from the creek into the Santa Clara River.

``We're very excited by the decision and pleased to slow down the decimation of the creek,'' Neiswinder said. ``The judge took action because he believed the construction would cause immediate harm, and that the case would likely prevail in court based on its merits.''

SCOPE First Vice President Lynne Plambeck argued that if the West Creek project is on hold, then the bridge is unnecessary.

``Why do we have to disrupt the environment and the natural habitat if we don't need the bridge?'' Plambeck said.

Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer argued that the bridge is important to residents even without the planned construction.

``The bridge is an important arterial road connecting Seco Canyon, Industrial Park, Valencia High and the 5 Freeway,'' Lauffer said.

The temporary restraining order will be in effect until late April, when a hearing on a preliminary injunction will be held. At the hearing, Newhall Land will have to prove that the construction of the Decoro Drive Bridge will not cause irreparable damage to the environment, as SCOPE contends.

If SCOPE prevails at the hearings, the restraining order will be in effect until the case goes to trial - meaning that West Creek would be further delayed.

``We have to prove it will be more detrimental to the environment to pour the concrete than to the developers not to proceed with the project,'' Neiswinder said.

Lauffer was confident the judge's decision had no merit.

``When we have the opportunity to fully explain our story, the facts will prevail,'' she said.