RPC Gives Nod To 7,500 Homes
With a minimum of discussion, the Regional Planning Commission approved four huge developments in the Santa Clarita Valley yesterday.
The four had a combined public hearing Friday Oct. 1” at which residents questioned whether traffic congestion and tlx need for new schools had been adequately addressed.
The four projects include William Oloyd’s 637 homes or 427 acres cast of Shadow Pines Uoulevard in Canyon Country, and Bouquet Canyon Development Company’s 318-home project tor 98 acres east of Hob Avenue in Bouquet Canyon.
The larger two are Jack Shine’s 5,400-unit American Beauty Homes project east of Highway 14 at Via Princessa and Larwin Construction Company’s 1,073-unit project west of Interstate 5 and 2.5 miles south of Castaic.
In approving the Shine project, the county replaces its general plan with recommendations for the site with Shine’s specific development plan.
In response to the questions raised at the public hearing, the Engineering Service Corp., whose vice president, Robert Sims, represented the developers at the hearing, produced a 16-page document answering several of the questions.
Allan Cameron, a Canyon Country resident, had asked why there had been no mention of the impact on freeways.
A memo from Caltrans in the report said the county’s environmental report “does not contain enough traffic information” for Caltrans to evaluate the impact of the four projects.
The memo states: “It is the opinion of the Transportation Planning Branch, which. reviewed the document, that the impact area is broader than that which is stated in the document “
The memo predicts a “negative impact” on traffic in the region, “although based on the document in hand, it is difficult to assess to what extent “
A memo from the Department of Fish and Game was equally critical of the county’s environmental study.
“We have concluded that implementation of (the four projects) would result in significant and unmitigated habitat elimination and wildlife losses.”
The projects “could result in adverse impacts to rare and endangered plants and to threatened and endangered animals,” the memo states.
Specifically on Shine’s project, the department discouraged development of the area. Any decrease in water quality could threaten the three-spined stickleback and “will be unacceptable to our department.”
In response to the memo on freeways, the developer’s report states an analysis of freeway interchanges has been done. Highway improvements will be completed with the cooperation of Caltrans.
The report states: “However, freeway widening beyond the interchange area was not evaluated since the system is of statewide and region-wide concern.”
It is not economically feasible to have several developers pay for lane widening, the report states.
On the biological impacts, open space lots are described as one solution. And further protection of the environment can be implemented when specific tracts of the Shine project are filled, his engineer’s report said.
Neither memo was discussed by the commission, which spoke little of the cumulative effect of the projects at its Oct. 17 hearing.
Other than listening to public testimony, there was little input from the commission on the subject.
Stanley Gould, who represents the Fifth District on the commission, did not speak at the public hearing. He made the motion Thursday to amend the county’s general plan and allow these projects to proceed.