Newhall borders won't be expanded

[SCVHISTORY.COM] [OLD TOWN NEWHALL TODAY] [NEWHALL HISTORY]

Newhall borders won’t be expanded

By Eric Thayer
Signal Staff Writer

Wednesday, January 10, 2001

he Santa Clarita City Council appropriated funds Tuesday night to finance redevelopment projects in Newhall and appointed four new members to its 17-member advisory body, the Newhall Redevelopment Committee.
    The council unanimously approved a loan to the redevelopment agency, minus $175,000 that had been slated for studies on expanding the downtown Newhall redevelopment district boundaries, after it was determined that more study was needed before expansion of the area could take place.
    Originally the council was set to appropriate $219,500, of which $25,000 would finance a plan for improving the streetscape, $10,000 would be earmarked for a plan to improve the parking situation and $9,500 would be used to renew the contract with Burnes Consulting, which has been working with area merchants and property owners.
    The parking and streetscape funds were approved, and the $9,500 for Burns Consulting was increased to $15,000 to include merchants along Lyons Avenue.
    But members of the Newhall Redevelopment Committee who spoke at the meeting said it might be premature to spend $175,000 to expand the district, and that they weren't requesting the money.
    "The general consensus of the (Newhall Redevelopment) Committee is that we should do some preliminary work before hiring consultants," said Larry Bird, chair of the committee and one of four redevelopment committee members who addressed the council.
    Bird cited disagreements encountered when the project area was first formed, and warned that the other public agencies that would be affected by expanding the boundaries might once again file lawsuits if they felt they would lose tax revenue.
    He suggested opening lines of communication with the other taxing agencies before spending money on studies to expand the redevelopment boundaries.
    "If they're going to fight it, then why hire consultants?" Bird asked.
    Excising the $175,000 appropriation from the mid-year budget request, the council expressed interest in having the redevelopment committee discuss the expansion of the boundaries at some point in the future, as identified in the committee's five-year strategic plan.
    The council also appointed four new members to fill vacancies on the Newhall Redevelopment Committee: Frank Kleeman, a retired judge; Jose Reyna, owner of Dario's restaurant; Laura Sanders, assistant principal at Newhall Elementary School; and Randal G. Winter, owner of Randal G. Winter Construction and Painting.