After about six months of discussion with Santa Clarita’s Planning Division, the developer looking to put more than 6,500 homes on a 980-acre property hopes it can come to a few agreements on what can be studied for the former Whittaker-Bermite property.
Santa Monica-based New Urban West is looking for an outline of its entitlement process for its multimillion-dollar investment, according to Jonathan Frankel, who spoke to the City Council on behalf of the project in March.
The land in question — south of Soledad Canyon Road, east of Railroad Avenue and west of Golden Valley Road — has a troubled past but represents a crux of future development in the city due to its size, central location and proximity to surrounding communities.
The City Council directed city staff to work with the developer on such a proposal, and on Tuesday the details are scheduled to be discussed on the dais at City Hall.
The property was known locally for years as the doughnut hole due to its location in the center of the city and the soil contamination by perchlorate and depleted uranium that made it largely undevelopable for decades.
Following a yearslong legal battle that’s ongoing in some respects, a Department of Toxic Substances Control-supervised cleanup led to the state releasing its hold for the land in February 2021.
A housing plan was approved for the property, the Porta Bella Specific Plan, in 1995, which proposed 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 proposed memorandum of understanding represents more than double that number of homes and around 10% more commercial development, about 62 acres total, for the same land.
“It is important to note that the MOU does not commit the city to a future decision on the project and the document would expire upon the ultimate adoption or denial of the project by the City Council,” wrote David Peterson, senior planner for the city, in a report on the project in the council’s meeting agenda. “If either party breaches the MOU, the document will be terminated.”
New Urban West is proposing a development agreement with a potential term of between 20 and 25 years, according to the city.
A statement from the developer was not immediately available Friday.
The plan represents a few significant changes from Porta Bella, besides the number of homes.
New Urban West is proposing the city restudy is “overall citywide traffic pattern” in order to renegotiate elements of the general plan, according to a note in the city’s agenda for the meeting, which states:
“The applicant intends to conduct a traffic study with the goal of demonstrating that traffic-related impacts can be accommodated with reductions to the roadway network that are currently contemplated by both the General Plan and the Porta Bella Specific Plan,” according to the agenda.
The city’s draft agreement states New Urban 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.
“Applicant intends to provide a traffic and circulation study that specifically studies the following potential roadway network that applicant intends to propose for the Specific Plan,” according to the language in the proposed agreement posted online. Magic Mountain Parkway is not mentioned in the draft agreement.
“The EIR shall review applicant’s proposed circulation plan, and the impacts of the proposed circulation plan to the circulation network reflected in the current General Plan Circulation Element and Porta Bella Specific Plan,” according to city documents.
The proposal does mention a 237-acre city parcel that would be part of a community benefits district, mentioning potential enhancements for the area including: 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.
