Public-comment period ending soon for Towsley Canyon project 

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.
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The public has until Friday to weigh in on plans for just over 500 “attainably priced” homes, including affordable senior housing, just west of city limits — south of Sagecrest Circle, west of The Old Road and north of Calgrove Boulevard.  

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 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. 

The homes will range in height from 26 to 38 feet for the condos and 45 feet for the senior living rental apartment building.  

“The project includes the development of 291 buildings and the following features and amenities: two 57- to 64-foot-wide onsite public streets, 26- to 36-foot-wide private driveways and fire lanes providing access to all units, 5-foot-wide pedestrian walkways throughout the development, several debris basins, a water tank, a 4,540 square-foot recreational center and an outdoor swimming pool.”  

The plan also reports meeting the current parking requirements by including a two-car garage for each proposed condominium dwelling unit and surface parking for the senior apartments, as well as additional uncovered and guest parking spaces throughout the development. 

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 city’s addition to its greenbelt was part of a closed-session negotiation listed on the City Council’s agenda in April. 

Adam Browning, principal for New Urban West, said he was happy to partner with the city on the open-space expansion.  

“We’re pleased to be working with the city of Santa Clarita as they look to further expand their open space district,” Browning said in a previous statement sent via email by John Musella, a spokesman for the project. “Our revised project reduced the overall development area allowing a large, contiguous 151-acre piece of natural open space to be preserved, which will include public hiking trails. Our open space is immediately adjacent to the city’s Taylor Trail open space area. Adding our open space with the city will seamlessly create greater connectivity of trails. We believe the city is the right partner to work with to care for our open space into the future.” 

The nearby infrastructure additions include sidewalk improvements, a retaining wall adjacent to The Old Road directly east of the project site and improvements to The Old Road fronting the project site. 

Previously, the land was part of annexation talks with the city under its previous owner, when the project was called Lyons Canyon Ranch. However, Jason Crawford, the city’s community director of development, said this project has not been a part of annexation talks.  

Erica Aguire, the principal planner on the Trails project for L.A. County, was not immediately available Tuesday to discuss when the project would be back in front of the Department of Regional Planning. 

A county official not authorized to speak on the project indicated Tuesday there was still work done on the response to the draft EIR, which is meant to assess the potential environmental impacts a project may have, as well as whether and how any issues can be mitigated. 

New Urban West also is trying to develop the former Whittaker Bermite property in the center of the Santa Clarita Valley, a nearly 1,000-acre former Department of Toxic Substances Control cleanup site in the center of town that’s been cleared for development.  

The Draft EIR can be viewed at: bit.ly/3xYekD8. 

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