After hours of a Santa Clarita Planning Commission discussion last month for the Wiley Canyon Corridor that’s going to be continued June 18, planners gave a glimpse ahead at the agenda for the next few months.
One of the biggest projects in front of the commission this year will be discussed April 16, when planners present the Town Center Specific Plan, a framework for the development of the area formerly known as Westfield Valencia Town Center and its surroundings, to the Planning Commission.
Centennial, a Dallas-based developer that purchased the mall last year, has said previously the city commission would host the first discussion of its plans for the $195 million property.
Just ahead of the release of an environmental impact review for this framework, which is nearing the end of its comment period, the city discussed some of the ideas the plan includes.
The plan is a focus on what the city has taken to calling “placemaking,” using the examples of the Irvine Spectrum and the Americana in Glendale, which feature retail and housing comingled with things like water features, Ferris wheels and other recreational space, according to Jason Crawford, the city of Santa Clarita’s director of community development.
Carl Tash, Centennial’s chief investment officer, said he wanted the new look to be less of a “retail island” and more integrated into its surrounding community.
“Though it’s been very retail-focused, particularly with everything that Westfield added to the property, we now want to think about … ‘How do we make this really fit with the community much better than it had historically,’” he said in a previous interview.
The outline for the mall calls for 2,550 housing units in the 111-acre planning area, and 630,000 square feet of commercial space. But exactly how that gets dispersed will be up to Centennial.
Farmer Bros.
On April 16, the Planning Commission also will discuss a proposal for a Farmer Bros. drive-thru.
The Perris-based fast-casual burger and sandwich chain is looking to put a drive-thru location next to Popeye’s in a space that’s not currently permitted for a drive-thru, which is why the applicant needs permission, according to city officials.
It would be the first Santa Clarita Valley location for the restaurant, which has more than 100 of the restaurants between Arizona, California and Nevada.
Budget Presentation and Ongoing Matters
The city’s Planning Commission and City Council also will be meeting at City Hall on May 7 for a joint budget session, according to the planning update March 19 from Planning Manager Patrick Leclair.
That meeting will include a budget presentation from City Manager Ken Striplin on the city’s budget projection for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The city’s Planning Commission also plans to continue its discussion of the mall area plan into the May meeting.
The Wiley Canyon plan is expected to come back the following month for the commission’s June 18 meeting.
The plan would put about 509 housing units, including more than 160 homes for seniors, on a 31-acre plot alongside Interstate 5, north of Calgrove Boulevard.
A handful of residents expressed optimism over the area receiving additional pavement, adequate signage and safer intersections.
However, most of the two-plus-hour discussion focused on concerns about traffic, circulation and the plan’s parking provisions.
