City to look at study on resort

Proposal looks to add restaurants, hotel and more to Sand Canyon Country Club

The City Council is scheduled Tuesday to authorize an environmental study on the proposed Sand Canyon Resort development, which would transform a portion of the Sand Canyon Country Club into a 217-room, 27-villa hotel resort.

The resort is planned to be developed over an existing nine-hole golf course at the Sand Canyon Country Club on a 75.5-acre parcel of land. If approved, it would consist of a three-story hotel with an additional spa/gym, a conference/ ballroom space, a 7-acre park and

three restaurants.

The recommended action is to award a contract to Dudek, an environmental consulting firm, which would prepare an environmental impact report on the project at a cost of between $254,000 and $292,000. The expense will be covered by the developer, Steve Kim, who recently purchased the Sand Canyon Country Club.

The study is mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, which looks at how the project would impact its environs, as well as any measures that could be undertaken to mitigate those impacts.

The decision on the EIR is on the council’s consent calendar for Tuesday’s meeting, so it would not be discussed in the meeting unless a council member pulls it from the consent calendar.

Sand Canyon residents have expressed curiosity about the program so far, which has been discussed by Kim, in various local media outlets.

“This will be the best destination in Los Angeles County,” Kim previously said in an interview with The Signal. “Everybody will say, ‘Wow!’”

Sand Canyon-area residents have yet to form a consensus or vote for a support or opposition on the project, said Ruthann Levison, Sand Canyon Homeowners Association president and communications director, but information is sought.

“There are a good number of people in the community that want no changes,” she said.

Residents’ concerns mentioned so far rest on safety and how an increase in traffic might harm evacuation routes in the case of a fire or earthquake, as well as affecting local hiking and running trails.

“It’s going to be a whole lot of cars coming and going regularly,” Levison added. Despite these factors, she said residents are willing continue listening. Overall, it is a matter of “wait and see.”

Kim declined comment on the EIR or Tuesday’s expected council decision, but said he remained positive about the project and what services it will offer to Sand Canyon and beyond.

For more information, the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting is available for viewing on the city website. (www. santa-clarita.com)