Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth joked Friday that he was ready to really speak candidly, now that the politician is enjoying his fifth and final term as mayor of his hometown in his last year of office.
In speaking to the monthly gathering of the Valley Industry Association, a local business advocacy group, Smyth discussed some of the changes that lay ahead for Santa Clarita in 2024, both the good, the bad and the unknown.
VIA chair Selina Thomas said the idea was to share “as a business-centered organization, what is in store for businesses, what we can look forward to in terms of the city’s support, how we can guide our members to what that support looks like,” during her first meeting as chair.
Being aware of the partnerships and resources in a community like Santa Clarita is one of the benefits to being active in a group like VIA, she added.
Smyth shared his excitement for this year, which he said would include the completion of a new homeless shelter in the city, adding yet another park and some other changes that some might find less exciting, but should still be aware of, nonetheless.
Still, optimism prevailed in the outlook.
“I think people are surprised with how busy Santa Clarita remains,” he said prior to his address Friday. “A lot of cities kind of reach a point of stagnation, where there isn’t a lot of activity, but with us opening up our 38th park this year, acquiring the YMCA to build a new Valencia Community Center, the additions of the sports complex — so still a lot of activities that … I just don’t think people are necessarily aware of in their day-to-day life.”
One of the first big events he mentioned is the latest addition to the city’s parks system, at Skyline Ranch, as well as the upgrades at Old Orchard Park. An indoor pool the city acquired in its purchase of the former YMCA site on McBean Parkway also is expected to open this year. A roller rink is another part of the new programming expected to be coming soon, he said.
One of the most significant developments expected to occur in 2024 is the full-time Bridge to Home homeless shelter coming online, which has been years in the making. Smyth recalled the years of work it took to find a site the community was OK with and then getting all of the resources together for it.
In mentioning some of the mixed-use projects on the horizon, such as the plans for Saugus Speedway and the former Smiser Mule Ranch along Interstate 5, Smyth also talked about the concern on the horizon for the city of Santa Clarita, which he won’t be working on directly, due to some of the changes ahead.
Last year, the city agreed to move to district-based elections. As part of the move, Smyth agreed to approve districts that essentially termed him out since he does not live in an area that will be on the 2024 ballot.
In November, the district for Councilman Jason Gibbs, who lives in Saugus, will be on the ballot, as well as a “remedial district,” which is mostly Newhall and a western swath of Canyon Country.
The biggest “threat” to Santa Clarita’s way of life, Smyth said, however, is coming from the state Legislature.
“What are the big threats and for me,” Smyth told the crowd. “The city is really in a race against the state of California. And it’s not just Santa Clarita, all cities, counties, because every year there is a continual effort to consolidate land use control within the state of California and to take it away from local governments like Santa Clarita.”
While the city is looking at what might become of its largest undeveloped block of land, a 1,000-acre plot in the center of town known as the Whittaker-Bermite property, and about to release its proposed Town Center Area Plan for the area anchored by the mall, it has received a number of development proposals that call for density well in excess of what the city would like to see.
“When I say ‘submitted,’ I use that term loosely because now if these projects meet certain state criteria, they don’t go through any city review process whatsoever,” Smyth said.
Smyth opened his talk by reminiscing about how long he’s known VIA Executive Director Kathy Norris, recalling 30 years ago, prior to his joining the council, when he was in an industrial park office near hers at a “telecommuting center” as it was known at the time, run by Connie Worden-Roberts, a local advocate and leader in the cityhood effort who died in 2014.
“Who would have thought 30 years ago, where we would be today,” he said, “where you’re working remotely or telecommuting is really become the norm as opposed to the exception.”
