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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-08-25 - AGENDA REPORTS - OLD ROAD WESTRIDGE (2)AGENDA REPORT City Manager Approv Item to be presented by: Frank Fe NEW BUSINESS DATE: August 25, 1998 SUBJECT: OLD ROAD WITHIN WESTRIDGE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT: Planning and Building Services RECOMMENDED ACTION Discuss and provide direction to staff if appropriate. The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission (RPC) is currently considering the Westridge project. The project consists of 1,712 residential units, a PGA golf course and a five acre commercial site. The RPC has conducted three public hearings on May 2e, August 5`h and August 12� and conducted a site tour on July 20'. The RPC continued the project to their September 9, 1998 meeting. City staff submitted a comment letter on the draft Environmental Impact Report on April 28, 1998. A City Council discussion of the Westridge project was conducted at the May 12, 1998 City Council meeting. At the City Council meeting several council members expressed an informal opinion that they could accept the inclusion of The Old Road within the Westridge project, provided. other intrusions within SEA 64 were eliminated andadequatemitigations were in place to reduce the impacts of The.Old Road on SEA 64. City staff testified at the May 20`h RPC hearing on behalf of the City's concerns. City staff explained to the RPC in writing and in oral testimony that the City Council voted 5-0 to remove this portion of The Old Road from the City's General Plan Circulation Element. In addition, staff described the Council's struggle to acknowledge the potential circulation. benefit of this road link while protecting the significant value of SEA 64. At this meeting, the RPC directed County staff to bring back studies of additional alignments for The Old Road in this location that would reduce the impact to the Oak Savanna. Based on the circulation value of The.Old Road, Council member Ferry requested that a discussion of this link of The Old Road be conducted by the City Council at its August 25, 1998 meeting. AFFROYED Agenda Ice►�:w ALTERNATIVE ACTION Other action as determined by Council. FISCAL IMPACT None. FF:JJL:LHS:Iep S: \council \oldroad. doc LEGEND 10 cut' Fu', E: .... . . Fill SEA 64 O,j 1.09 Ige ov cog n r IS Qo orae ° Fos, 'il: 'J\•..Il�L{'y (�• i , .,. I ' � ' � '1 •� I' Iiu .L,Ii00 y•1'UUy'•, r\\ i , „ +I t < r:(!j/J '•,•r l'� "� c.. f'. � r Vn Oil I , r ( f'/ /� � ,,. ' '`! ' � . .. .•'• '\'•�I�if�+,'�1, Y ! T„ (l •V114 �\...' �J:e�+q.I+��l. '.�• I:, ['.1 %,J,� •+. 'f •I' tl'�I. 1'r `, Iq. '1 1 ,fR J,�f S`.•,.,.r�' ,I, 1�-,/• yt:: .r,lll. /� : 'v.,. r' �a. •:. 1 (+w.• 1i 'a-..�•`�, ,,.i •�• 7• ,So U". khoot..{I � \ ',�<-I 1-�/'., lr l( �I., i'_ II n' f,Il1• •1 tiJ ��/f•�'1+ �,� I I\'`'� i'•.i t . q• rl ,\'�,:. .'' pO'O • 1 t .. t. a:. 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'`"!q` r , {(� L G .n 't•I •:r;\l.�,q,•ij!� / 1_d' I ((Il lra I+• t t;t - �,l:Wl.t.nllt ,�'�` r y, Vii:': :1r:�•• 2 .�1;'�,i+ \. •• ]�,�• . ,,. /. �l, l:/t 7 :J�4'., '�•,.� {,�t(J/(\l,,•'7'�i"", 1• '. ., \ J'�/^' ' 1t \'f'"; i:'<. 1.. '• - .9 � f, .. neo• '': I - 's _4�'� '• •'1r r • �4 ii• yfi 1 "�'v �'1 •st: �, x11 i •, � IRL� II, ,�/.\��•.: If '1 �• '$ !� S � ~ w•'�'6 6� Y Q e� � ,, ..Fn 4 ��..;{`�. �'.�s. •'''f •I• �!' ,� �`..II11,; 4 '• • ,I. ^J'r•~.11 '�` • i.` .� rl � ' 111 1 1 + Ir.L..' 1 1y1: •'•� .L r f'�' t1 \ , • r... i.li V 14 t.. 'y wy !4 [ ' 3�r10`!''! cNEWHALL%NCH COMPANY August 24, 1998 Jan Heidt, Mayor City of Santa Clarita 23920 Valencia Boulevard Santa Clarita, California 91355 Re: WESTRIDGE Dear Jan: The testimony to the Regional Planning Commission on Westridge has included many incorrect, non-factual statements and conclusions. For that reason, we feel it is important that we provide the enclosed fact sheet. In general, the information contained in the fact sheet comes directly from the Westridge Draft EIR. I hope this is helpful in your discussions on Westridge on August 25th. Sincerely, GLORIA GLENN Senior Vice -President pUG �15Y�pG1CA��+'�� 011.4 OF INDIVIDUAL LETTERS TO COUNCIL COPIES TO: CITY 14iANAGER, CITY CLERK A Division of The Newhall Land and Farming Company • 23823 Valencia Boulevard, Valencia, California 91355 • (805) 255-4000 E; CNEWHALL %NCH COMPANY WESTRIDGE GOLF COURSE COMMUNITY AND TOURNAMENT PLAYERS CLUB GOLF COURSE FACT SHEET The Old Road A traffic study shows that if The Old Road is not built, the result will be significant additional traffic on Valencia Boulevard, Rockwell Canyon Road, and McBean Parkway in the City. • 4 major alternative alignments for The Old Road were studied prior to approval of Westridge in 1992. The Precise Alignment (P-225) approved by the County was the environmentally superior alternative in terms of oak trees, grading, slope height, visibility and other factors, and it meets County safety regulations. Special design standards have been proposed to make the road compatible with the SEA in terms of biology, to reduce the visibility of the road, and to enhance its "scenic parkway" character. Current Project Compared to Previous Approved Proiect: Current project: Contains 178 fewer homes project -wide Contains 111 fewer homes in the SEA Contains 36 acres less Commercial Retains 48 more oak trees (Note: 5 additional oaks would be retained by the proposed redesign of "PP" Street and adjoining lots.) The Proposed Santa Ciarita Valley Area Plan Amendment: • The Santa Clarita Valley Area Plan permits 2,880 residential units and 480,000 square feet of Commercial land use. The proposed project proposes only 1,712 housing units and 41,000 square feet of Commercial land use. The project is therefore a 40% reduction in residential units and 91% reduction in Commercial land use. • The purpose of the Plan Amendment is solely to change the spatial arrangement of land uses on the site in order to accommodate the golf course and the arrangement of residential densities proposed. A Division of The Newhall Land and Farming Company • 23823 Valencia Boulevard, Valencia, California 91355 • (805) 255-4000 • In the previous lawsuit on Westridge, the Court held that: • The County's approvals did not violate the County's General Plan policies and procedures regarding the protection of SEAs or the General Plan SEA "Compatibility" criteria. • The County's decision to route The Old Road extension through the SEA did not violate the Transportation Element of the General Plan. • The County's decision to approve the Westridge project did not violate the Santa Clarita Valley Area Plan. Oak Trees and SEA 64 • There are 1,246 oak trees on the site. • The Westridge project preserves 88% of the oaks on the project site, and 91% of the oaks in SEA 64. • Newhall Ranch Company will plant 400 new oak trees in the SEA and will restore 85 acres of native grasslands. • 154 acres of the SEA will be dedicated as permanent open space. A two mile system of unimproved nature trails will be built in the open space area. An endowment will be provided for the permanent managemerit of the SEA; and the open space area will be opened to the public for recreational and educational use. Water and Reclaimed Water The DMS analysis for Westridge shows that there is sufficient water to serve the project and other anticipated development included in DMS. (The water demand/supply analysis was based on a "worst-case" assumption that all water for the project would be from potable supplies.) • Westridge is anticipated to use 645 acre/feet of reclaimed water, which would reduce the project's demand for potable water by about 36%. The use of reclaimed water by Westridge would benefit the Santa Clarita Valley by reducing overall demand for potable water. Reclaimed water is not free: it's cost is somewhat less than that of potable water to reflect the fact that users must pay the additional costs of providing a dual water system and meeting the operational requirements for the use of reclaimed water. The proposed reclaimed water tank on the Westridge site, which is a project of the Castaic Lake Water Agency, would remove one oak tree of the 16 trees on the water tank site. As shown in the Westridge Draft EIR, the loss of this tree would be mitigated by the Westridge project.