THE GAZETTE.
March-April 2006 • Year 12, Number 2.
A 'North Newhall' Plan.
By JASON SMISKO And JASON MIKAELIAN
Planners, City Of Santa Clarita.
Now that the city of Santa Clarita and the community have deemed the preparation and approval of the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan an overwhelming success, the city has initiated another specific planning process for two hundred thirteen acres north of Old Town Newhall.
North Newhall (at left), looking south toward Old Town Newhall from the Wiley-Princessa bridge. [Click to enlarge]
It's called the "North Newhall Specific Plan." The rough boundaries of the project area are the Circle J Ranch boundary to the north, the Metropolitan Water District easement to the east and Newhall Creek to the west and south.
The specific planning process will allow the multiple stakeholders — who have varied opinions and ideas on the area's development potential — to work collaboratively to propose a project that the city and community can support.
City staff members will work closely with the property owners and surrounding communities in developing the proposed plan. This will include an outreach program with various community meetings, workshops and public hearings.
The ultimate goal of this specific plan is to give property and business owners the tools needed to entice quality investment into the area, ensure a consistent development pattern with complimentary uses, preserve environmentally sensitive areas, and provide a mechanism to construct needed public improvements.
"Requests For Proposals" were distributed to appropriate consultant firms in late February. The city hopes to award a contract at a City Council meeting in April. Property owners within the project area will receive a notice of the council meeting.
Although the process in developing the plan will be similar to the process that went into creating the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan, the North Newhall area is a unique part of the community with its own opportunities, objectives and issues.
Since the plan is in its earliest phases, no specific applications have been submitted, and there have been no formal discussions on the type or location of potential uses.
Once the project is under way, it is expected to take approximately two years to complete the specific plan and environmental impact report.
The main sub-areas of the project area include the hundred-acre vacant Casden property, the MWD easement, the Southern Pacific Railroad property, the commercial properties along San Fernando Road from 12th Street to Via Princessa, and the industrial and residential properties along 12th Street and Arch Street.
The physical landscape of the project area includes flat, vacant areas, small commercial and industrial developments, waterways such as Newhall and Placerita creeks, and hillsides. The majority of the project area is currently zoned "business park planned development." Other zoning designations within the project area include industrial-commercial, community commercial, open space and residential-low.
For more information about the North Newhall Specific Plan, call Associate Planner Jason Mikaelian at 661/255-4330.
©2006, Old Town Newhall USA. All rights reserved.
