Developer asks for 30 years!!
...and still refuses to pay the full tab for schools and libraries What will our Valley be like 30 years from now? What new problems will we face; what new discoveries will have been made; what new laws will have been enacted? We don't know, but according to the Newhall Ranch agreement, Newhall Land will NOT have to address them. Think back 30 years ago. We did not have the Clean Water or Clean Air Act. Freeways were uncrowded; schools had seven classes a day and were not year-round. Thirty years is longer than a generation. That means our children will have no say in how the area along the Santa Clara River is developed. When the bulldozers begin tearing down trees and hills and filling in floodplains, they will have no legal right to complain. What will they think of us for taking away their voice? Does it make good sense to entitle such a large project (25,000 houses) for this long a time? The answer is, most definitely not! The length of this agreement is only one area of contention.
There is also the amount the developer will pay for schools and libraries, what public entity will control the open space and when it will be dedicated, and the mitigation monitoring for the hundred of oaks that will be cut down. Hart School District is especially concerned because the agreement does not provide enough funding to build an auditorium or a sports field or even provide books for school libraries for the schools in Newhall Land Developments. Other builders have agreed to fully fund needed facilities. It would also require the Hart District to go on year-round or over-crowd to 120% so that the developer could obtain state reimbursement for the cost of the land. Year-round education may be a good tool, but it should be the parents' and the District's choice, not the developer!
The agreement states that the removal of over 600 oaks will be a benefit to the public! Why? Because they will be replaced at a two to one ratio. This argument was hard for everyone, including the County Forester to swallow. He asked for a higher replacement ratio and long-term monitoring.. Newhall Land has been promoting a "Natural River Management Plan that will supposedly allow the River to meander. In spite of this Plan, the County is now demanding to clear many areas in the Santa Clara. This exemplifies the fears expressed by many people about this project and its impacts on the River. Write your comments on this agreement before Oct. 22, 97 to:
Los Angeles County
Regional Planning Commission
320 W. Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA
90012
Upload and copyright© Dec 1997 by SCOPE