NEWHALL GETS EVALUATION FOR REDEVELOPMENT : COUNTY SAYS CRITERIA NOT MET YET.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

Downtown Newhall is a thriving business community that has few vacant

storefronts and would not meet basic redevelopment guidelines, according to a Los Angeles County report released Friday.

The May 28 analysis was prepared by the Chief Administrative Office at the request of county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. While the report offers no recommendations, it suggests that Santa Clarita's proposed redevelopment area is not blighted, contains too much undeveloped land and fails to include plans for developing or improving low- and moderate-income housing.

``Right now, it's not a redevelopment plan and our recommendation to the supervisor is, let's see how they choose to finance before we make any further decisions on it,'' said Peter Loo, a county management analyst who prepared the report.

City officials said they're pleased with the analysis and are working to polish the redevelopment plan, which would cover 42 percent of the city and provide $7.7 million in tax increments to finance a portion of the $12 million in improvements slated for downtown Newhall.

``I'm glad they didn't come out against it,'' said Assistant City Manager Ken Pulskamp. ``The county recognizes the Newhall area is in desperate need of revitalization. It's encouraging that the county said, `Let's wait and see what they come up with before we come up with a recommendation.' ''

According to the county, the city's redevelopment plan doesn't meet community redevelopment law, which defines a blighted area as 80 percent urban and filled with unsafe buildings, high business vacancies or overcrowded residential neighborhoods.

Downtown Newhall has few vacant storefronts, serves a variety of customers and increased the number of outlets with taxable sales from 1988 despite a decrease in average sales volume per outlet.

The county said the proposed redevelopment area is not urbanized enough because it includes significant undeveloped land and that the city has not included plans to spend at least 20 percent of all redevelopment funds on low- and moderate-income housing.

Pulskamp said the city will address those concerns during Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. City Council meeting in City Hall, 23290 Valencia Blvd.

The Castaic Lake Water Agency also has prepared an analysis and contends that it would lose $59.6 million over 30 years if the redevelopment plan is implemented now. Such a loss would force the agency to raise its rates, General Manager Robert Sagehorn said.

``There's no free lunch when those monies are taken from the water agency,'' Sagehorn said. ``They have to be raised through raised rates or connection fees.''

Last year, the water agency successfully challenged a previous redevelopment effort by the city.