RESIDENTS SAY CITY SHOULD FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - The need for roads, parks and schools are among the most pressing in the city, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the results of a city-sponsored survey and planning workshop. Residents also urged city officials to focus on economic development and the health and welfare of Santa Clarita residents at Saturday's Share the Vision session at City Hall. ``This is where the rubber meets the road, where the real work gets done,'' said state Assemblyman as·sem·bly·man n. A man who is a member of a legislative assembly. assemblyman Noun pl -men a member of a legislative assembly Noun 1. Keith Richman Dr. Keith S. Richman is a California, United States, Republican politician. From 2001 to 2007, he served in the California State Assembly representing the 38th Assembly District based in Northwest Los Angeles County. , R-Granada Hills. Santa Clarita will become part of his district later this year. Many residents said the city's infrastructure needs to catch up with development and growth that has marked the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. in the past several years. ``These are complicated issues that require many different trade-offs and considerations,'' said Assistant City Manager Ken Pulskamp. In the next nine months, the city expects to add about 70 acres of parkland, said Rick Gould, the director of parks and recreation services. ``The biggest challenge will be to balance the cost of maintaining existing costs while acquiring new facilities,'' Gould said. ``In addition, our aging parks will need to be refurbished.'' Most of the health and welfare discussions centered on the precarious financial position of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, which is asking its creditors to help it avoid bankruptcy. ``The concern that the hospital might close is overstated o·ver·state tr.v. o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing, o·ver·states To state in exaggerated terms. See Synonyms at exaggerate. o , but we're still dealing with a serious situation,'' said Chief Executive Officer Roger Seaver. Many participants said the city needed to focus on economic development by increasing Santa Clarita's sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. receipts, which now account for 40 percent of the city's general fund revenues, while working to redevelop re·de·vel·op v. re·de·vel·oped, re·de·vel·op·ing, re·de·vel·ops v.tr. 1. To develop (something) again. 2. downtown Newhall. ``There's a lot of uncertainty in the economy now,'' said Steve Stark, the director of administrative services. ``We can't get comfortable and rely on our past successes.'' The workshop drew about 150 participants. The results will help set the City Council's priorities for the next three years, and guide the emphasis placed on various programs, said Terri Maus, the city's director of planning and building services. For the first time, residents weighed in on the issues and participated in the discussions via the city's Web site and by watching local cable access television. |
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