NEW DELAY EXPECTED 21,600-HOME PROPOSAL AT CENTER OF DEBATE.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Consideration of the massive Newhall Ranch project west of Santa Clarita is expected to be delayed again to allow county officials to respond to the avalanche of concerns about the 21,600-home project.

Newhall Ranch, which is at the center of a growing debate over development's impact on the quality of life in the Santa Clarita Valley, had been scheduled for action next week by the county Board of Supervisors.

But Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose 5th District includes the area, will ask the board to delay its decision until March 25 to give county officials a chance to respond to concerns about the project's impact on endangered plants and animals, traffic and its consistency with the county's general plan and the adequacy of water resources.

``The staff needs time to prepare a thorough response to all of the issues raised,'' said Conal McNamara, one of Antonovich's deputies. ``It is the prudent thing to do.''

The delay is not related to allegations that Newhall Land and Farming Company officials improperly altered a stream bed and knowingly destroyed the endangered San Fernando Valley spineflower on the project site, McNamara said.

Opponents of the project, which would be the biggest development in Los Angeles County history, celebrated the delay at a Saturday morning rally in front of Newhall Land's Valencia Boulevard headquarters.

``This gives us a chance to marshal our forces and get even more organized,'' said Barbara Wampole, vice chairwoman of the Friends of the Santa Clara River, one of several environmental groups that sponsored the protest.

The board has put off reconsidering the Newhall Ranch project for more than a year at Antonovich's request because of questions about the development's water supply.

Los Angeles County supervisors unanimously approved Newhall Ranch in late 1998 over the objections of Ventura County and several environmental groups, which challenged the decision in court.

In May 2000, Kern Superior Court Judge Roger D. Randall blocked construction of the 12,000-acre minicity near the banks of the Santa Clara River until Newhall Land revised the project's environmental studies.

Construction, once scheduled to start in 2000, may now be pushed beyond 2005, according to company spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer.

``The delay makes sense,'' Lauffer said. ``We want the supervisors to have all of the information before them when they make a decision.''

Some of those demonstrating outside Newhall Land's offices expressed skepticism about the reason for the delay, suggesting instead that it was designed to allow the dissipation of the clamor created by the fight over a centuries-old oak tree in Stevenson Ranch that attracted worldwide attention and support from soccer moms, children and hard-core environmentalists alike.

``They want the furor caused by Old Glory to die down before they ram it through,'' said Valencia resident Tom Dicioccio, using supporters' nickname for the tree.

Los Angeles County officials ordered the tree removed to expand Pico Canyon Road to accommodate future development, including Newhall Ranch.

A plan to box the majestic tree and move it to a nearby oak preserve is tantamount to a death sentence for the tree, according to environmentalists. The company moving the tree, on the other hand, said it stands a good chance of surviving.

``While we are all heartbroken about the tree, more people than ever are seeing what's happening to the Santa Clarita Valley and they are energized to stop it,'' Wampole said. ``We see the connection between Newhall Ranch and the Pico Canyon oak tree, and people are fed up.''

About 100 people attended the Saturday rally, waving hand-lettered signs decrying suburban sprawl and tree cutting in the name of development - the largest development protest in several years, group officials said.

Like many at the rally, Valencia residents Brent and Marja Hoerner said they were radicalized by the fight over Old Glory.

``Just look around the valley,'' said Brent Hoerner. ``It's getting boring and monotonous. We just decided that it was time we stood up and said, `No more.' So that's what we're doing, and we're starting with Newhall Ranch.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Kids carrying anti-Newhall Ranch placards stand on the sign in front of The Newhall Land and Farming Company on Saturday.

(2 -- color) Tiana Savaikie, left, and her brother, Ryan, wave signs urging the saving of the oak tree dubbed Old Glory.

(3) Lise Romanoff of Sherman Oaks writes anti-Newhall Ranch signs.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer