Old Town Newhall Gazette, February-March 1997.
©1997, OLD TOWN NEWHALL, USA -- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
By Clyde Smyth, Mayor Of Newhall And Neighboring Communities.
Old Town Newhall Gazette, February-March 1997.
©1997, OLD TOWN NEWHALL, USA -- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
It's easy to do, and many of us are guilty of it. All too often, we see something that doesn't work, and rather than do something about it, we complain and watch it get worse. Such is not the case in Old Town Newhall.
Here, citizens, business and property owners and the City joined together to create a plan that will revitalize the downtown Newhall area.
It began with concerns expressed by the people of the community and soon became a comprehensive plan that included revitalization programs, capital improvements and a financing strategy.
The Downtown Newhall Improvement Program describes a course of action that will result in the restoration of economic and physical vitality to downtown Newhall. That action plan is made up of a combination of community-sponsored policies, programs and projects designed to affect the behavior of the marketplace in a way that begins to benefit the area.
In 1995-1996, a series of seven televised community workshops were held by consultant Michael Freedman and his associates. These were followed by seven city staff review meetings and one joint city council-planning commission study session. From this, Freedman was able to transform the dreams of business owners, property owners and local residents into a prioritized list of issues that revitalization should address.
In June of 1996, the Santa Clarita City Council unanimously approved this ambitious plan, and the work began. In December, a 17-member citizen redevelopment committee was formed to help direct and make recommendations to the City Council regarding redevelopment in Newhall.
The highest priorities as identified by the workshop participants include:
Also in this plan are prototypes for design guidelines in the downtown Newhall area. Participants agreed that a Victorian-Western-Spanish Colonial theme would provide a timeless style that would embrace the community's history and roots.
One of the first capital projects, already designed and funded, is the Railroad Avenue reconfiguration which is slated to begin in June, 1997.
This $2.8 million project, funded through the Economic Development Administration and Community Development Block Grants, is the first major step in a series of actions to greatly improve downtown Newhall. This project will take truck traffic off of San Fernando Road, making it more pedestrian-friendly. Railroad Avenue will be widened from two to four lanes between Fourth and Eleventh Streets, with new curbs, gutters, sidewalks and street lights.
By improving city-wide circulation and helping to promote a main street shopping environment, the improvements to Railroad Avenue are a big step in the right direction for downtown Newhall.
The redevelopment plan is expected to be adopted by the City Council in May of this year. Currently, environmental work is being done, including a traffic analysis.
There will be a significant number of additional opportunities for public comment before the plan is adopted. For more information on the redevelopment plan, contact Glenn Adamick in the City's Community Development Department at (805) 255-4330.
Finally, if you are one of those people on the sidelines who has something to say about downtown Newhall but has yet to commit to helping solve the problems, IT ISN'T TOO LATE! Your help and support are necessary for the success of this important corridor in our community.
For additional information, feel free to contact Community Development Director Ken Pulskamp at (805) 259-2489.
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