HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-02-23 - AGENDA REPORTS - WHITNEY CYN LEGISLATIVE PROP (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
DATE: February 23, 1999
City Manager Appro)
Item to be presented
SUBJECT: WHITNEY CANYON LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
RECOMMENDED ACTION
The City Council sponsor legislation that would include Whitney Canyon as part of the Rim of
the Valley Corridor in the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
BACKGROUND
State Assembly Member George Runner is authoring a new legislative proposal that will
include Whitney Canyon into the Rim of the Valley Corridor in the Santa Monica Mountain
Conservancy after a public hearing and scientific land planning studies. This legislation is an
attempt to rectify Whitney Canyon's exclusion from 1989 legislation that revised the Rim of the
Valley Corridor Boundaries, and is seen as the best way to prevent a landfill from being located
in Whitney Canyon. Inclusion into the Rim of the Valley Corridor provides several benefits:
• Provides more access to the Angeles National Forest.
• Adds significant land and connections to the rest of the trail.
• Preserves and enhances the last existing wildlife migratory corridor and continues the
effort to officially designate a connection between the Santa Monica Mountains and San
Gabriel Mountains.
Assists in the effort to prevent a landfill from being located in that area.
Similar legislation was proposed in 1998 to include both Elsmere Canyon and Whitney Canyon
in the Rim of the Valley Corridor. That legislation was not successful, in part due to concerns
over the inclusion of Elsmere. Those involved wish to acknowledge these concerns and work
towards the inclusion of Whitney only to improve the chances of success. Future efforts to
include additional land into the Rim system are under consideration. The last proposal was
supported by the following organizations:
• Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
• City of Santa Clarita
• Mountains Recreation and Conservation Committee
• Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce
• Golden Oak Ranch
• Planning and Conservation League
• SCV Canyons Preservation Committee
Assemblyman Runner is pursuing the same organizations for support of the new proposal.
rAgemda Item.