THE GAZETTE.
January-February 2006 • Year 12, Number 1.
Master Plan For Master's College.
By JASON SMISKO
Senior Planner,
City Of Santa Clarita.
With so much happening in Old Town Newhall, it is no wonder that The Master's College is working on a plan that will improve the college, add more student housing, and help create a "college atmosphere" to the transformation that is underway in Newhall.
The Master's College has filed an application with the city of Santa Clarita and is in the process of preparing a master plan for its existing 95-acre college campus, located in the Placerita Canyon community. The master plan comes in response to requests from Placerita Canyon property owners for a plan of proposed future development and expansion of the college, and the requirements of the city's Unified Development Code.
The goals of the Master Plan are to anticipate future development of the campus; establish a maximum student and staff population count; move the main entrance to the campus outside of Placerita Canyon and onto Dockweiler Drive; construct a portion of Dockweiler Drive; and construct a new chapel.
The new main entrance for The Master's College would reduce the amount of vehicular traffic from students and faculty who use the current entrance on Placerita Canyon Road at 13th Street. The new main entrance would also provide for more direct pedestrian traffic from Placerita Canyon to Old Town Newhall, because a trail link from Dockweiler Drive to the trail along the Santa Clara River would be installed, providing more recreational opportunities along the creek, such as a trail and bridge, and more playing fields and parking at Creekview Park. This link would contribute to the revitalization efforts outlined in the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan.
Originally founded as Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary in 1927, the school opened a campus in downtown Los Angeles in the 1940s as Los Angeles Baptist College. The college moved to its current location in Placerita Canyon in 1961 with the purchase of the Happy Jack Dude Ranch. In 1987, the campus was renamed The Master's College.
The college now has a total student enrollment of 1,105, including full- and part-time students. The campus has a total of 304 faculty and staff members.
Also included in the college's application with the city is a tentative tract map to create a residential neighborhood that would extend the existing Deputy Jake Way. This area is also owned by the college, although is not a part of the master plan. The future home sites would be sold to a builder after the map creating the lots is approved by the Santa Clarita City Council.
The design of the Dockweiler extension and the proposed residential neighborhood are being finalized by the applicant.
The city of Santa Clarita has hired a consulting firm to complete an environmental impact report that will analyze potential environmental impacts the project may have. The city's Planning Division will host a scoping meeting in early 2006, where neighbors of the college in Placerita Canyon and in Old Town Newhall will be invited to discuss the proposed plans before a draft of the EIR is completed. Notices of the scoping meeting will be sent to property owners with the date, time and location of the meeting, once it is scheduled.
For more information about this project, contact Associate Planner Aimee Schwimmer at City Hall, 661/255-4330.
©2006, Old Town Newhall USA. All rights reserved.
