After hearing community concerns and a dearth of feedback, the L.A. County Department of Regional Planning announced a comment period for the Trails at Lyons Canyon would be extended to March 10.
The environmental review for the Trails had been available in Downtown Los Angeles for the past 60 days, and “we did not receive a single request to view this there,” according to an email from Erica Aguirre, the project’s principal planner, which was shared with The Signal.
The public-review period is a chance for residents to weigh in on any concerns about the project.
The email Wednesday evening from Aguirre also said that, starting Thursday, a hard copy would be available at the Stevenson Ranch Library. She also shared a digital copy of the files.
She did not respond to a request for comment on the project.
Aguirre’s email was in response to concerns about the project raised by several local environmental advocates, including Roger Haring, Bouquet Canyon Creek Restoration Project coordinator, and the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment, or SCOPE.
Both mentioned the recent fires and the potential danger of putting senior housing in an area traditionally considered a very severe fire-hazard area like Towsley Canyon.
“It is important that the community and the county have adequate time after these fires to ensure that evacuation routes are adequate, and that all recommendations that might be made after evaluation of the Eaton and Palisades fires … are incorporated into this project, especially because senior housing is proposed,” according to Haring’s letter.
The draft environmental impact report for the Trails at Lyons Canyon calls for 510 homes, a mix of two- and three-story attached and detached for-sale condominium units and a four-story affordable senior rental apartment building.
The development would be clustered on the northeast portion of the site, according to the project’s planners.
The project’s leader, New Urban West, also made a deal with the city of Santa Clarita that will add approximately 150 acres of open space to its borders. One of the selling points from the project’s developer was the addition of the open space, which makes up more than 75% of the 233-acre project area, according to the project’s consultants.
The homes will range in height from 26 to 38 feet for the condos and 45 feet for the senior living rental apartment building.
Aguirre responded to community concerns late Wednesday to confirm the extension and share the files.
Here’s a link to the project’s environmental review: bit.ly/3xYekD8.
