PLANNERS SEEK PUBLIC OPINION RESIDENTS TO GET PROGRESS UPDATE AFTER SHAPING PLAN.

Byline: PATRICIA FARRELL AIDEM

Staff writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Five years after residents helped form guidelines for a joint city-county plan to shape the fast-growing Santa Clarita Valley -- with a goal of keeping a small-town feel -- the public is being tapped again for its ideas.

The planners behind the massive document known as One Valley One Vision will host a series of public meetings both in the city and in outlying communities from Castaic to Agua Dulce to collect comments on the progress of the plan, one centered on a concept called "Valley of Villages."

"The staffs from the city and the county have been working behind the scenes, and now it's time to re-engage the public to let them see how the guiding principles are being put to work for the foundation of the plan," said Jason Smisko, a city planner and project manager for One Valley One Vision.

Planners envision neighborhood and employment centers surrounded by greenbelts where people opt for public transit, walking paths and other alternates to the car.

The goal is to adopt and approve One Valley One Vision by the end of next year, Smisko said. While much of the city itself is built out, Smisko said there are several opportunities to apply the village concept both in Santa Clarita and in the fast-developing surrounding communities. He points to the redevelopment efforts in downtown Newhall, the long-term plans to develop the long-shuttered Bermite munitions plant in Saugus and the Lang Station area of Canyon Country.

"Agua Dulce also could easily be guided by this concept and so could Newhall Ranch," he said, referring to the 21,000-home development planned west of Santa Clarita.

"We have a lot of opportunities for that mixed-use, transit-oriented type of environment. The village concept is a quality-of-life issue -- you're able to walk to the store, walk to get coffee, walk to recreational opportunities."

Public sessions were held in 2002, and five years later the joint city- county planning team is ready to discuss what it has done with those recommendations. "This is an excellent opportunity for local residents to publicly participate, ask questions and incorporate their ideas and opinions into the creation of the Joint Valleywide General Plan," Smisko said.

Information about the plan is available at www.santa-clarita.com/vgp/new.

If you go

A series of meetings on the One Valley One Vision plan for the Santa Clarita Valley will be held starting at 7tonight at the City of Santa Clarita Sports Complex, 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway. More 7p.m. sessions are planned: Thursday at West Ranch High School, 26255 W. Valencia Blvd., Room 205; May14 at Agua Dulce School cafeteria, 11311 FrascatiSt.; May17at Castaic Middle School cafeteria, 28900 Hillcrest Parkway.

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