Plans to build homes at the site of the Santa Clarita Valley’s popular twice-weekly swap meet will pay homage to the property’s historical past as the Saugus Speedway, city planners announced this week.
The Santa Clarita Planning Commission expects to hear about two projects Tuesday during its monthly meeting for July.
The first project would be plans for the land currently occupied by the Saugus Swap Meet, the second a property subdivision in Newhall.
The speedway property’s plans call for “318 residential units and an industrial component with an approximately 127,000 square-foot light manufacturing building at the subject property,” according to the meeting’s agenda.
“The meeting will provide an opportunity for the community and the Planning Commission to receive a project introduction, discuss the project and ask questions of the applicant and staff,” per city officials.
The agenda also expects that staff will hear feedback on Integral Communities’ plans for the 35-acre property and then prepare a response to any concerns for the commission’s September meeting.
The neighborhood would have four residential planning areas on approximately 28 acres, with 122 detached single-family condos and 196 attached townhomes — 22 identified as affordable for low-income households.
“The residential portion would also include several on-site amenities for residents including a pool, spa, bathroom, barbecue grills, picnic tables, dog park, tot lot, chess gaming tables, fire pit and a community garden,” according to the city.
For the fifth area, the industrial component would have 116,790 square feet of light manufacturing or warehouse space and 10,000 square feet of office/mezzanine space with a maximum building height of 39 feet.
Doug Bonelli, who’s currently listed as the owner of the swap meet’s land, said earlier this month he could only guarantee the open-air market’s operation through the end of July.
The agenda item gives a brief look at the Bonelli family’s longtime involvement in the land.
Formerly the Saugus Speedway, its roots date back to 1926, when a rodeo was hosted there for the first time.
That continued into the 1950s, but in 1939, auto racing on the dirt track also became a local tradition.
The track was paved in 1956, but after the 1994 earthquake, the bleachers were deemed unsafe and later razed.
“Although the subject property has a diverse background as an entertainment venue, the Saugus Speedway site is not listed as a historic site by the city of Santa Clarita Historic Preservation Ordinance,” according to officials. “The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society provided a letter commending the applicant for the inclusion of project design features to honor the Saugus Speedway, such as naming residential streets after legendary race car drivers and incorporating the checkered flag color scheme into the community park.”
The site preparation and grading are expected to begin in late 2024 and conclude by December 2025, with building construction commencing in 2026 and lasting for over four to five years, according to documents in the city’s agenda.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District raised a concern about the project’s industrial component generating around 600 daily truck trips “in close proximity to existing and new sensitive land uses since the operation generates and attracts heavy-duty diesel-fueled trucks that emit diesel particulate matter,” according to comments from the AQMD. “When the health impacts from the proposed project are added to the existing background, both existing and new residents living in the surrounding communities will likely face even greater exposure to air pollution and bear a disproportionate burden of increasing health risks.”
Old Orchard Center
The Newhall subdivision on the agenda is a request by Intertex to split the Old Orchard Center property, a nearly 10-acre commercial lot, into two lots.
No new development nor construction is proposed.
Such parcel splits are often a part of an effort to make a property easier to sell, although there’s no indication of that on the agenda item.
