Planners OK Blueprint for Newhall

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Planners OK Blueprint for Newhall

By Josh Premako
Signal Staff Writer

Thursday, September 1, 2005

he Santa Clarita Planning Commission has signed off on the redevelopment plan for Downtown Newhall after assuring residents the proposal is designed to improve the area without forcing any residents out.
    City staff members presented their final update on the draft Downtown Newhall specific plan at Tuesday's meeting before the commission gave its final nod, sending the plan to the City Council.
    According to Senior Planner Jason Smisko, the plan isn't so much a hard-line development project as a plan brimming with community potential.
    "We want to create as many reasons as possible to bring people (to Newhall)," he said.
    After reviewing for commissioners the results of the environmental impact report conducted for the plan, Smisko pointed out several highlights of the project, including the ability for property and business owners to continue existing uses or take advantage of increased zoning standards.
    The plan proposes "no relocation or prohibition of existing uses, (and) no demolition of existing structures," Smisko added.
    Much criticism has been directed at the plan by Newhall business owners who object to a proposed mercado, or open-air market area, taking up several blocks of downtown real estate. Smisko said the idea was inspired by the Mercado Central in Valencia, Spain, Boston's Faneuil Hall and the Central Market in Philadelphia.
    Property owners have said they would rather develop their properties than give them up to make way for the mercado.
    "I'm ready for a change ... as long as we're in the picture," said Julio Garcia. Garcia owns the building where the Way Station coffee shop is located.
    While the mercado is a desired component of the plan, staff members said, it is not set in stone.
    "(We should) let them do what they want with their property," Commissioner Mike Berger said.
    The commission's approval of the plan included a recommendation for increased flexibility regarding the mercado, including consideration of alternate locations.
    A year in development and at a cost of some $1 million, the specific plan envisions transforming the time-wearied community into "a thriving, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented urban village." The plan was prepared by the design firm Moule and Polyzoides, which has been involved in the revitalization of Pasadena's Old Town area and Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade.
    The commission also attempted to assuage the fears of some east Newhall residents who believe redevelopment will drive up property values, either forcing them out or resulting in overcrowding to compensate for high rent prices.
    "I think the city staff has gone way beyond the norm," Berger said. "This has never been a plan to move people out of the community. I think it's only going to get better for them."
    Smisko said enhanced zoning rules will prevent overcrowding.
    New Commissioner Bill Kennedy — sworn into office Tuesday — echoed the commission's call for community involvement by capping the public hearing with a challenge to residents.
    "Ask yourself," he said, "ŒAm I happy with the image we have now or could it be better?'"
    With the commission's approval of the specific plan and environmental impact report, the item will move to the City Council for discussion and recommendations.