Every so often something happens in Santa Clarita that makes you pause, rub your eyes, and wonder whether anyone in Sacramento has ever actually visited our valley or possesses any common sense.
The state of California has decided that the perfect place to build a brand-new 278,000-square-foot courthouse and holding facility is right in the middle of the Valencia Town Center district. Not near it. Right in it.
Picture this: You are standing in the middle of the mall. You look across the street toward the McBean Transit Center. Now imagine an overwhelming eight-story monolith of a courthouse and holding jail dominating the entire scene. That is the “new Santa Clarita” they are proposing.
Here is what Sacramento planners have missed completely, full stop: The proposed complex is horrifically ill-suited to its surroundings. A total non-starter from the get-go.
This is not some country courthouse. It is an obtrusive, industrial-scale criminal justice complex with 24 courtrooms, a holding jail, secure law-enforcement access and a multi-level garage for nearly 300 vehicles. It would instantly become the tallest, most dominant structure in the entire city. And your state wants to drop this moronically conceived criminal-processing unit in the center of our busiest shopping, dining and entertainment district, where families go to eat, walk and relax.
We have already seen smash-and-grab robberies at the Apple Store, Macy’s and other shops. Now add a crime-processing factory drawing thousands of criminal defendants, witnesses, attorneys, law-enforcement transfers, juvenile cases and daily in-custody transports directly into the entertainment center of our city. Then add the major transit center next door, bringing in thousands more each week. Picture the attraction this creates for criminal elements fascinated by shiny targets with fast access to Interstate 5.
This neutron-bomb building of neighborhood ruination is also surrounded on three sides by long-established residential neighborhoods. These are homes where families have lived for decades, where kids ride bikes, where people walk dogs at night, and where residents have worked their whole lives to live in one of the safest, cleanest, most family-oriented suburban cities in the state. Dropping this industrial-sized criminal-processing factory into the middle of that environment is not thoughtful planning. It is negligence disguised as modernization.
Anyone who knows this valley understands this is the wrong place for something like this.
Santa Clarita has earned one of the lowest residential crime rates in California, and that did not happen by luck. It happened because we built thoughtfully. We planned our neighborhoods, schools and parks with intention. We created a town where families can safely walk to dinner, where teens can gather without worry, and where people truly feel at home.
Bluntly, this facility would process thousands of suspected and convicted criminals directly into what looks to them like a buffet of high-value retail targets. This is rolling out the red carpet for increased crime throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. This is not NIMBY. It is just dumb.
If you have ever visited the neighborhoods around the Van Nuys courthouse or the Long Beach courthouse, you already know what happens around large regional justice centers. We did not move to Santa Clarita for that. We certainly did not build this community for it. Opposition to this “courthouse” is common sense and a reasonable stance for the preservation of safe public spaces.
No one disputes that Santa Clarita needs better court facilities. We do. But as prosecutor Jonathan Hatami put it, we need a courthouse that matches our community, not a courthouse built for half of Los Angeles County. And we certainly do not need it placed in the most sensitive economic and residential location we have, surrounded by long-standing neighborhoods. Plainly, there are far better locations away from homes and entertainment centers.
This Is Our Moment to Speak Up
If this project moves forward as proposed, the change will be permanent. The traffic will be permanent. The in-custody transports will be permanent. The security presence will be permanent. The increased crime will be permanent. Instead of trendy shops and inviting restaurants, imagine bail-bond storefronts and giant criminal-lawyer advertisements. SCV becomes the San Fernando Valley.
The public comment period is open until Nov. 26. This is the time to make your voice heard:
• Judicial Council of California: [email protected]; [email protected]. Subject line: New Santa Clarita Courthouse Project Public Comment.
• Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, a40.asmdc.org/contact.
• State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares, District 23, sr23.senate.ca.gov/contact-me.
• Santa Clarita City Council, santaclarita.gov.
Tell them you support a courthouse that fits our needs, but not one that overwhelms the heart of our community. Tell them you want a location that respects our homes, our businesses and our shared quality of life.
Santa Clarita became what it is because people cared enough to get involved. We spoke up, we showed up and we protected the things that make this place special. Today we face another moment where our voice truly matters.
This is not about resisting progress. It is about making sure progress does not trample the values and investments that brought us here and keep us here. If we speak together, we can guide this project toward a better outcome. If we stay silent, we will live with the consequences for decades.
Speak up now, while speaking still matters.
Gary Horton is chairman of the College of the Canyons Foundation board. His “Full Speed to Port!” has appeared in The Signal since 2006. The opinions expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Signal or its editorial board.
