SAFETY IS A WALK IN THE PARK FOR PASEO-LINKED COMMUNITY.

Byline: PATRICIA FARRELL AIDEM Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Nearly 40 years after its creation as a family-friendly community, Santa Clarita was included Thursday among the top U.S. cities for children, affirming a city's dedication to its youth and one developer's vision of what community really means.

It's all about the kids in this city just north of Los Angeles where one-third of the 177,000 residents are under 18. A broad spectrum of youth activities and programs that promote the good -- and address the bad -- have long waiting lists.

``We visited a lot of areas before we decided to buy our house,'' said Dyan Spigner, a working mom of two from Saugus, one of four communities that make up Santa Clarita. ``We were able to afford a nice home in a nice area, we didn't have helicopters going overhead all night like our old neighborhood. The schools are good, the neighborhood's great.

``It's the American dream -- two kids, a yard, the pets. We could take the kids for walks. They could ride their bikes to the park and not need supervision all the time.''

Recognizing cities where problems are handled in innovative ways, adults are involved, safety is a priority, children's health is a concern and quality education is a given, America's Promise Alliance included Santa Clarita among its 100 Best Communities for Young People.

The children's advocacy group was founded a decade ago with former Secretary of State Colin Powell its first chairman.

More than 750 communities from all 50 states competed for the 2007 honors.

Big on sports

Santa Clarita boasts one of the nation's biggest peewee sports programs; music groups that win far-ranging accolades; and a voluntary community court for first-time youth offenders that is becoming a model for other towns.

There's Suburbia -- a chance for garage bands to play once a month on a remote city property -- a skate park, drama camps at the local playhouse, Soapbox Derby races, Indian Guides and church carnivals.

``Everyone knows everyone,'' said 18-year-old Liesa Whatley, who grew up in Valencia and attends San Diego State University. ``Everybody's into sports when they're kids so you know people from all over, even if you go to different high schools.''

Kevin Schallert is a 17-year-old from Canyon Country and not at all the tie-wearing, pocket-protected nerd you'd expect to head Visions in Progress, a 30-member city teen advisory group.

``We have an opportunity to help make Santa Clarita what we want it to be,'' Schallert said in a quick interview before Thursday's VIP meeting.

``The youth asked for a skate park, we got a skate park. They had focus groups and asked what we wanted, and they gave it to us. Now they're building another one, and asking us what we want again.''

A walk in the park

Some of the credit for re-creating the kind of city where many baby boomers grew up goes to the 20-year-old city of Santa Clarita and the parents who run the PTAs and coach their kids on the field and court.

It also goes to Victor Gruen, an urban designer and architect whose master plan for Valencia -- now the city's center -- encouraged neighborliness and family.

A half-century ago, Gruen envisioned a community linked by walkways meandering among neighborhoods, schools, parks and gathering spots.

Born in Austria, Gruen looked to his own roots to design a master plan for Valencia, a community close to Los Angeles but set apart by its emphasis on Old World character. A canvas of rolling farmland before him, Gruen drew in neighborhoods he called villages, linked each by a paseo system that now stretches some 30 miles passing schools and parks and connecting various town centers.

``If you had to get in a car and drive to a park, you don't get the same level of community. If you can walk to the park or to get an ice cream cone with your kids, that creates a very special sense of community,'' said Marlee Lauffer, a vice president of The Newhall Land and Farming Company, which built Valencia and is planning a sequel to the west called Newhall Ranch.

For decades, the plan has worked -- the paseos are dotted with couples walking, all ages jogging, kids biking and skating, babies in strollers and junior high kids meeting up as evening falls.

Gruen's genius

When the city incorporated, Valencia's standard became the benchmark for other developments that came before the City Council, said Councilman Frank Ferry.

``The paseos, the parks, the community pools where families can spend time together -- that's the thumbprint we look for now in development anywhere in Santa Clarita,'' he said.

Gruen's genius is being incorporated into Newhall Ranch, 21,000 homes stretching at the foot of the Santa Susanas along state Route 126 to the Ventura County line. Much of the ``high country'' shadowing the development will be dedicated as public parkland, but the flatland will have much the same kid-friendly feeling as Valencia, Lauffer said.

Kids kept in line

Each of the four main neighborhoods will have a town center and more than half the homes will be within a quarter-mile walking distance.

There's value in that kind of extra, Ferry said.

``If you want to take your kids on a paseo to walk or ride their bikes, you won't be taunted by kids with nothing better to do,'' he said. ``That's important to me as a dad. There are always people out and about and you know your kids are reasonably safe.''

Santa Clarita consistently ranks among the nation's safest cities, but Ferry cautions that the city cannot be complacent, thus its emphasis on positive programs for young people -- and action when kids break the rules.

Ferry, irked that local youth offenders were getting their wrists slapped at Juvenile Court in Sylmar, pushed forth the idea of a community court. A court commissioner who volunteers as judge hears cases in City Hall, and metes out sentences of community labor, with follow-up for the kids and their parents.

The idea is to keep kids in line on their first offense so they don't cross the next line, he said.

Sara Cook, 18, loves her hometown, but wouldn't mind moving to a hipper city for a while.

``I'd kind of like to live where there's more entertainment ... clubs and dancing,'' she said. ``Then I'd want to come back here and raise my family.''

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California's best

The following regions were listed among the nation's 100 Best Communities for Young People:

BRENTWOOD -- Middle-school students participate in anti-violence programs.

SANTA CLARITA -- Anti-Gang Task Force provides job training and employment.

IRVINE -- Youth Action Team develops leadership skills among middle- and high-school students.

LONG BEACH -- City agencies devote resources to youth and family programs.

GEORGETOWN DIVIDE -- Coalition of school and community groups support youth and parenting programs.

SAN RAMON -- At-risk teens targeted in crime-prevention program.

SOLANO COUNTY -- Network of groups targets abuse, children's services and child care.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Trevor Murchison, left, and Tate Pucher, both of Valencia, are ready to roll on one of the many paseos in Santa Clarita.

(2 -- color) Parents

Educators credit parents' involvement, including well-attended PTA activities, for helping Santa Clarita schools rank among the top in the state.

David Crane/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) Sports

Hundreds of kids pack local parks after school in Santa Clarita for soccer, baseball, basketball or volleyball practices.

Visions in Progress

Thirty high school students take part in VIP, advising Santa Clarita officials on a variety of teen issues.

(4 -- color) Little Leaguers listen to their coach at the beginning of practice at Central Park in Saugus on Thursday. The availability of recreation helps make Santa Clarita one of the best places to raise children.

(5 -- color) Kevin Schallet is a teenager who is active in the community of Santa Clarita. Community involvement is another factor making Santa Clarita one of the best places in the country to raise children, according to a study.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

Box:

California's best (see text)