In a clock tower quandary that’s starting to feel timeless for some, Santa Clarita officials have put the owners of the corner tower at Soledad and Whites canyon roads on notice over an ofttimes untimely display.
The clock, which is on property leased by a Starbucks at the intersection, has been a mainstay since the site, originally a Valley Federal Savings bank, opened in 1975.
So much so that the city worked with the developer on an agreement that would preserve the tower when its most previous tenant, Realty Executives, moved out, according to Jason Crawford, the city’s director of community development.
Jim Tanner of Realty Executives said his company was part of a conversation to save the tower about 10 years ago after the city passed its sign ordinance, because, as Tanner said in March 2023, “It’s a landmark out there.”
However, Oro Capital Advisors, which owns the property, has not kept time with the piece as of late, according to residents who have taken to social media to complain about the clock.
As of Wednesday, the clock’s digital time display was non-operational.
A person who answered the phone at the Nevada corporate office for Oro said there was no comment available at this time.
A Starbucks employee, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak on the situation, said the store regularly receives calls asking about the clock tower.
In January, passers-by called to complain because the clock was an hour fast, which many pointed out online would be fixed in March when clocks are changed for daylight saving time.
And for a time, it did.
But a few weeks later, the clock stopped working, the Starbucks employee said.
The employee said store-level staffers are not included in any communication between their corporate office and the property owner, so when people call, the staffer can only pass a complaint on to the appropriate corporate contact.
They don’t hear much about what happens next, the person said.
Carrie Lujan, communications manager for the city of Santa Clarita, said the city was made aware of the issues when the clock tower was off by an hour in the winter.
On Tuesday, city staff were at the intersection and observed the digital sign covered, which goes against the city’s agreement with the property owner, Lujan confirmed.
“We did not get any calls about them painting it, but we went out there and observed the current status, and we have an open and active case with them,” Lujan said in a phone call Wednesday.
“We reached out to them today to let them know the expectation is that the clock is functioning at the correct time.”
City officials did not immediately respond to a question Wednesday evening over whether there’s a timeline associated with the city’s code-enforcement request.
Tick, tock.
