City approves amphitheater study, condo developments
City Council members gave the go-ahead on a feasibility study for an amphitheater in Santa Clarita at their meeting Tuesday.
AEA Consulting was awarded the contract for $59,640 to figure out the best spot for an amphitheater and how much it would cost.
“It is very clear the community would very much like to see some form of an amphitheater here in Santa Clarita,” Councilman Bob Kellar said.
Past councils have gotten input that locals want an amphitheater, according to former Councilman TimBen Boydston.
“The No. 1 thing the arts community wanted was an amphitheater,” Boydston said. “Our jobs as representatives have always been to listen to the people.”
Community member Ken Dean said he was concerned about how much the study cost and that the firm is based out of New York.
The most qualified firm happened to come out of New York among the six who put in bids, City Manager Ken Striplin said.
A Santa Clarita committee, comprised of arts commissioners and city staff members, chose the firm in part because Laura Zucker, who served as the executive director of the L.A. County Arts
Commission for 25 years, is on their consulting team and knows Southern California art well.
Condos approved
Two new condo developments also are coming to Santa Clarita with the City Council giving developers the green light Tuesday.
One development will include 92 condos east of the intersection of Camino del Arte Drive and Copper Hill Drive, south of West Creek Community Park.
A separate project is expected to add nine more condos will be built on Golden Valley Road east of Robert C. Lee Parkway.
The item passed on the consent calendar and no community members spoke on the issue.
Council recognition
Honoring the bravery of locals, council members recognized some Good Samaritans who came to the aid of a 70-year-old woman attacked while jogging on a bike trail in September.
The four bystanders stopped the attack and detained the suspect until sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene.
“Without these very brave people, the outcome could have been very different,” Councilwoman Laurene Weste said.
Public comment
One woman used public comment time to tell the council to consider implementing a trolley system for neighborhoods and switching to electric school buses.
Councilwoman Marsha McLean asked to have the council write a letter to Federal legislators saying they opposed adding more cell phone towers to the city.
McLean was not opposed to the towers themselves, and if fact encouraged the technology, but said she did not like that the legislators were taking away local government control.
The council’s legislative committee is expected to discuss the issue at their meeting next week.
Council gave their invocation and adjourned in memory founding council member and four-time mayor Jo Anne Darcy, who died at age 86 on Oct. 29.
Weste invited attendees to write memories they had of Darcy on notecards to share with her family. gender@signalscv.com 661-287-5525 on Twitter @ginaender