A resolution officially denying the Sand Canyon Resort will be considered by the Santa Clarita Planning Commission on Tuesday, according to the commission’s agenda released Friday.
The proposed development includes a hotel, inn, villas, spa, restaurants, ballrooms, conference space and outdoor recreation area on a little over 50 acres of land north of Robinson Ranch Road and east of Sand Canyon Road.
Steve Kim, the developer, also proposed donating 25 acres of open space to the city. Hunt Braly, a land use and real estate attorney with Poole Shaffery & Koegle LLP representing Kim, told commissioners at their May 18 meeting that he plans to appeal a denial by the commission to the Santa Clarita City Council.
The resolution made several findings about the project, which the Planning Commission recommended for denial after hearing its case for a fourth time May 18.
Namely, the commission’s resolution deemed the project inconsistent with the Santa Clarita General Plan, a document containing the city’s goals, policies and objectives.
“(The) Project is inconsistent with strategies listed in the General Plan’s Open Space and Conservation Element that pertain to the designation and long-term preservation of open space within the planning area,” according to a city report.
The report also found the project incompatible with Sand Canyon’s rural environment and equestrian character, which was defined by the city’s Sand Canyon Special Standards District.
Kim currently owns the Sand Canyon Country Club next to the proposed resort site. Zoned open space, the area was developed into a golf course in 1996, when the City Council decided “’the project would preserve approximately 300 acres of land into perpetuity as recreational/open space’ as a public benefit.”
Capital Improvement Program
The Planning Commission will also review the city’s proposed 2021-2022 Capital Improvement Program budget, currently proposed at $46.3 million.
The budget funds infrastructure projects throughout the city. Maintenance project, at $25 million, makes up the largest chunk of the city’s infrastructure budget, followed by parks at $12 million.
The Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for June 1 at 6 p.m. To participate in the meeting, visit santa-clarita.com for more information.
