Old Town Newhall Gazette, November-December 2008


		THE GAZETTE. November-December 2008 • Year 14, Number 4. In Newhall Time, Change Is Happening Fast. — EDITORIAL — By LEON WORDEN Editor and Publisher. Maybe you don't notice it by driving the streets of Newhall — or maybe you do — but things have really been moving with lightning speed since the City Council adopted the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan a couple of years ago. No longer is it a question of whether Newhall will see a rebirth, or what the town will look like, but rather what should happen first, and how quickly it can get done. Folks can argue about the timing of projects — and they do — but when you stop and consider that way back in the early 1920s there were merchants who dreamed of fixing up Newhall, you realize that everything truly is relative. Within the next three to four years — yes, even in this economy — we should see a new and bigger library, all five blocks of new landscaping and walkways along Main Street, and at least one parking structure with retail shops on the ground floor and residential units upstairs. We know what's coming to Old Town Newhall. But what about the rest of Newhall — and, for that matter, the rest of Santa Clarita? Where should new shopping centers go? Parks? Low-income housing? What should be preserved as open space? How will the new traffic flow? The city of Santa Clarita is putting those questions to you right now as it works with Los Angeles County on a new general plan. You might have heard of it. It's nicknamed "One Valley, One Vision," the idea being that we are a single, unified area, regardless of which side of the municipal border we're on. What happens on one side of our valley affects people on the other, and we need to plan accordingly. The city and county held a series of workshops in November to gather public opinion and will be holding more public meetings before the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed on the One Valley, One Vision plan next summer. Stay tuned to the city's website (santa-clarita.com) if you want to have a say in the way your valley grows. With so many new things coming, the city is keeping a watchful eye on what has gone before. As we reported last time, in September the City Council approved a temporary "stopgap" ordinance to prevent the demolition of buildings deemed historically important in the city's current General Plan and the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan. In October the council agreed to hire one of the top historic preservation consulting firms in Southern California, Historic Resources Group, to examine the properties on those lists and determine which ones do and which ones don't qualify as historic. The lists aren't perfect. They include some properties that don't even sport a building any more — it was already demolished. At the same time, the lists don't include every historic structure in Santa Clarita. Far from it. While the city fast-tracks the removal of properties that don't belong on the lists, Historic Resources Group will also be meeting with preservationists and property owners to determine what should be added. Read this edition and you'll see that loads of holiday activities are in store for you in Newhall during December. Here are a couple of items that didn't quite make deadline (don't ask us to explain, but we do Page 2 last): • The Egg Plantation isn't just for breakfast or lunch anymore. Saturday nights from 7 p.m. to midnight, the omelet house on Walnut Street is the place for live music, complete with a full bar, espresso bar, hors d'oeuvres and deserts. Age twenty-one and over only. • What better location than opposite the Metrolink Station on Railroad Avenue for the Railroad Café? The new coffee house, owned by three local women, opened in mid-November inside the old courthouse building. Check it out. ©2008, Old Town Newhall USA. All rights reserved.

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