The area known locally as the doughnut hole of Santa Clarita could finally be getting a makeover.
On Tuesday, the City Council approved a memorandum of understanding with Santa Monica-based New Urban West that would allow the developer to study the “overall citywide traffic pattern” to show that its plan to build out more than 6,500 homes would be feasible by only extending two existing roads.
The agreement for a potential project, known as Sunridge, was approved with a 3-1 vote. Councilwoman Marsha McLean was the lone vote against it, while Councilman Jason Gibbs was absent.
A representative from New Urban West did not speak at the meeting.
Along with homes, the 980-acre property located south of Soledad Canyon Road, east of Railroad Avenue and west of Golden Valley Road is proposed to include: a championship youth sports facility on adjacent city property; a community/cultural center on the adjacent city property; and open space dedications, including new trails.
“This area is visible all across the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Councilwoman Laurene Weste. “It has an amazing opportunity to be stunning and an upgrade to what it’s been since the 1920s as a municipal munitions dumping area.”
Weste was referring to the area being the former home of the Whittaker-Bermite site, a nearly 1,000-acre tract of land that required a decades-long cleanup of contaminated soil due to decades of dynamite, fireworks and oil field explosives testing. The land was finally deemed safe by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control in 2021, and the state released its hold for the land.
While no official plans have been submitted to the city by New Urban West, any plan would replace the Porta Bella specific plan that was approved by the Santa Clarita City Council in 1995. That plan had called for 2,911 residential units and 2.5 million square feet of commercial space, 406 acres of parks and recreational space and a school site, and extensions of Magic Mountain Parkway, Santa Clarita Parkway and Via Princessa, which are also supposed to be extended according to the city’s general plan.
The MOU represents more than double that number of homes and around 10% more commercial development, about 62 acres total, for the same land.
“It commits the city to conducting a program environmental impact report for environmental analysis and of the project and commits the applicant to reimbursing the city for any legal fees associated with review of the project,” said David Peterson, senior planner for the city.
Peterson added that the MOU does not commit the council to a future decision on the project, and that while the city does not typically enter into agreements such as this, the developer has a strong track record of following through with other cities.
McLean said that with the MOU not looking at Magic Mountain Parkway as needing to be extended, the plan makes no sense.
“People were extremely vocal about adding over 3,000 homes that were planned for that area, but a saving grace was the roads that were going to be built,” McLean said. “Now, we are asked to sign an MOU for 6,500 homes and eliminate a road. I think that before we sign any MOU, we need to have complete due diligence as to what will work there and what won’t.”
New Urban West believes only extending Via Princessa and Santa Clarita Parkway is necessary and intends to pay for a study that proves as much, according to the agreement.
According to Jason Crawford, director of community development for the city, Magic Mountain Parkway was not included in the MOU because the future applicant is trying to prove that it does not need to be extended, though the city’s general plan still calls for that.
“No decision will be made until we’ve seen their studies and figure out if we agree or not,” Crawford said Wednesday in a phone interview, adding that he expects the process to take years due to the large amount of analysis and environmental studies needed for a project of this size.
TimBen Boydston, a former member of the City Council, said the agreement is “very problematic” due to the reduced roadway network study. He mentioned the high cost of the Golden Valley connector that extended the road from Newhall Ranch Road to Highway 14.
“I’m certain this developer does not want to build these great, big roads,” Boydston said. “And they’re going to kind of put the idea (that more roads aren’t necessary) in people’s heads, and then an MOU that you’re going to say ‘yes’ to.”
Boydston added that as more development comes to the Santa Clarita Valley, it’s becoming more and more of a possibility that the area becomes more like the San Fernando Valley when it comes to traffic, unless more roads are built.
“We do not want to become the San Fernando Valley and be in gridlock half the day,” he said.
Weste recommended that city staff present quarterly updates to the council, as this “looks like a fairly lengthy process.”
The day after the council meeting, project spokesman John Musella sent The Signal a prepared statement on behalf of Jonathan Frankel of New Urban West.
“This MOU establishes a clear framework for success,” said the statement sent via email. “It ensures that our planning efforts start on the right track and that we can continue to collaborate effectively with city staff to deliver significant community benefits and retain as much local control as possible over the blueprint for development for this property.”
