Santa Clarita Real Estate

The tranquil hills over the Newhall Pass, they wont be that way if the development company of Plamer Investments wins and this project is still very much on the mind of the developer who plans to build a mini-city there. In a battle that involves three municipal governments.

The Las Lomas "mini-city" proposed for the hills just north of the intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 14 would take in 555 acres and include 5,800 dwelling units, approximately three million square feet of commercial, industrial and retail uses, and a 300-room hotel.

Spearheaded by developer Dan Palmer of Santa Monica-based Palmer Investments, the project is still in its environmental-review phase. The City of Santa Clarita said no and in an effort to sidestep local jurisdictions is taking his case to the city of Los Angeles about annexation. The property is located in unincorporated Los Angeles County; a proposal to annex to the city of Santa Clarita was rebuffed, and on Nov. 13 the Santa Clarita City Council voted unanimously to oppose construction of Las Lomas, labeling the project irresponsible and dangerous.
Quoting Santa Clarita Mayor:
"The proposed Las Lomas development would be massive both in size and in lasting negative impacts on surrounding communities," said then-Santa Clarita Mayor Marsha McLean. "The Santa Clarita City Council considers safety and quality of life of our residents paramount and we strongly oppose this project based on its unrealistic land use and over-development."
Developers for Las Lomas have begun working with the Los Angeles City Planning Department on the draft Environmental Impact Report and the draft Specific Plan. To date, neither document has been approved by the city of Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission has final jurisdiction in the matter.

In a Dec. 6 memo from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, Chief Assistant City Attorney David Michaelson stated that city leaders would be breaking the law if they stopped processing development applications for Las Lomas.

On Dec. 12, Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon sought an investigation into the release of Michaelson’s memo, arguing that publication of his opinion gave the developer an inside look into the city’s legal strategy on Las Lomas. Alarcon formally asked the Los Angeles Police Department to investigate the matter.

While the development was debated among two city councils, Las Lomas did not go unnoticed by the county of Los Angeles.

A public hearing originally scheduled for Dec. 12 about Las Lomas was canceled a week earlier.

At the county Regional Planning meeting on Dec. 5, commission members approved a motion to take the public hearing off the calendar to allow time to complete an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, and to allow the commission’s staff members to send notices to stakeholders concerning the cancellation.

The project, which is already subject of numerous lawsuits, is also a cause for serious concern for the county Board of Supervisors.
Of concern to County Supervisor Antonovich, transportation concerns through the Newhall Pass, the Las Lomas property has slopes in excess of 50 percent covering more than half of the property, contains several prominent ridgelines, and has thousands of oak trees and the property is already constrained in terms of ingress and egress.
Clearly against this project include The City of Santa Clarita, Congressmen Brad Sherman, D-San Fernando Valley, and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita; California State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-San Fernando Valley; and other local interest groups.