OPEN-SPACE ISSUE PROBED.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- A year after property owners decisively voted down an assessment to preserve open land, the city is revisiting the issue by financing a new subcommittee to explore ways to save the Santa Clarita Valley's wilderness.

A group of community and business leaders have been meeting in recent weeks to explore ways Santa Clarita could buy undeveloped land in the city or on the outskirts. And last week the City Council approved forming an official ad hoc committee composed of Mayor Laurene Weste and Councilman Bob Kellar and spending $100,000 to hire consultants.

City Manager Ken Pulskamp said the money would be spent on an assessment engineer and community outreach. The process is in its infancy and still to be worked out is the cost to residents and how long an assessment would be charged, city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz said earlier.

Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean voiced concern the process -- hailed as community-driven -- could be viewed as city-driven instead.

``I do have some reservations about allocating the money too early,'' McLean said. ``I would like to see some kind of plan come forward before we allocate money.''

Last November, property owners voted down the city's proposed $25-a-year special assessment to fund park and open space purchases by a 60 percent margin. If the measure had passed, it could have yielded about $1.46 million a year to buy, maintain and develop parks and open space, and the money could have been used to generate tens of millions at the outset, Ortiz said.

Last year the city spent about $250,000 on informational materials, ballots, polls and an engineer's report. McLean asked if the report could be recycled but Pulskamp said no, it must be updated.

Paul Edelman, a member of the citizen committee, has experience dealing with this issue as deputy director of natural resources and planning for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Edelman said fears that a show of interest in target properties would jack up asking prices, adding it's important that the work be done openly.

``People need to know what the distribution of availability is, which helps the whole engineering process,'' he said. ``It shows you're providing benefit near people.'' Some choice properties may be out of reach or owners may be unwilling to sell.

Joint funding often helps cement deals and Edelman wondered why the city is reticent to issue bonds. For two open space districts in the city of Los Angeles, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority sold bonds and amassed money up front.

``After (we) sold the bonds, and paid off the interest and lawsuits, we netted a one-time $25 million for acquisitions and approximately $200,000 each year for 30 years for brush clearance and administration of the district,'' he said.

Homeowners pay $40 a year, owners of vacant properties, $20 a year.

``If you sell bonds or don't sell bonds, everyone's going to get charged. If you do sell bonds, you get benefits now.''

The committee will keep an open mind, said Darren Hernandez, the city's treasurer.

``Preserving undeveloped land is the important goal,'' Hernandez said. ``How to best accomplish this is what the committee is exploring, and they appreciate and are considering all options and suggestions.''

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