RIVER PLAN LEADS MOM TO ACTIVISM.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SAUGUS - April Garland, a mother of two, had never even attended a City Council meeting before she got up and urged city planners to think twice before beginning an environmental study of the proposed Riverpark project.

Garland, along with an ad-hoc committee of her neighbors and friends, is already marshaling opposition to the 1,100-home Newhall Land and Farming Company development along the banks of the Santa Clara River - even though it is not expected to be voted up or down by the City Council for at least a year.

``I was horrified when I heard what they wanted to do, and decided I couldn't stay silent when there's so much overdevelopment already,'' Garland said, of the project slated to be built on one of the last large undeveloped areas in Santa Clarita.

``I've never been involved in anything like this before, but it's time that we put our foot down,'' Garland said.

Garland and about 40 other residents attended the first public meeting on the project earlier this month. Fewer than 10 residents usually show up at those meetings, city officials said.

While Newhall Land officials envision Riverpark as a community focused on the Santa Clara River - the last natural waterway in Southern California - some residents and local environmentalists see a dense development that will threaten wildlife, clog already congested roads and cause their children's schools to overflow.

It will take the better part of a year to complete an environmental impact report that will detail the proposed development's probable effect on the river and surrounding area, city officials said.

``We're confident that as we go through the process, all of the issues will be addressed,'' said Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer.

Located on 664 acres in the heart of the city and surrounded on all sides by established neighborhoods, Riverpark would be evenly divided between houses and apartments, with easy access to the nearby Santa Clarita Metrolink Station.

The City Council is expected to be under an inordinate amount of pressure to approve the development because of the tens of thousands of dollars in fees the project is expected to contribute to the extension of Newhall Ranch Road, which is part of the cross valley connector - a new east-west route across the Santa Clarita Valley that the City Council has touted as essential.

The demand for new roads in Santa Clarita should not trump the need to preserve the Santa Clara River's unique ecosystem, environmentalists said.

``This is the only place that is undisturbed in Santa Clarita,'' said Teresa Savaikie, a member of the environmental watchdog group Friends of the Santa Clara River. ``There is nowhere else left for the people and animals to go.''

The river is home to scores of plants, animals and birds - some of them rare, including species threatened by extinction.

``This is a very sensitive area of the river, not suitable for development,'' said Lynne Plambeck, first vice president of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment. ``We should not build houses there.''

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April Garland says she never went to a city council meeting before opposing Riverpark.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer