The residents trying to stop a development in Wiley Canyon in the courts received another hearing, this time in September, after refiling and serving a different party believed to be the responsible entity.
A developer is trying to turn the former home of the Smiser Mule Ranch between Wiley Canyon Road and Interstate 5, north of Calgrove Boulevard, into 232 condos in two-story buildings and 120 assisted-living units.
The response in court this week from attorneys specially representing the project, which the city approved in November, was swift: Wiley Cyn LLC has still not been served with legal notice, nor has its registered agent.
“This motion is made under Code of Civil Procedure section … on the grounds that the purported service of summons is defective and void as a matter of law because the summons does not name Wiley Cyn LLC as a respondent or real party in interest and because the summons was not properly served on Wiley’s identified agent for service of process,” according to a filing in the case made Tuesday. “The summons names only the city of Santa Clarita as respondent and Royal Clark Development Company LLC.”
Mark Dillon of Gatzke Dillon & Ballance LLP wrote that the summons was served to “an unauthorized individual who lacks authority to accept service for Wiley.”
The attorneys for the project argue that the failure of the named plaintiff to properly identify the responsible party should make the service invalid.
There was significant pushback from residents regarding the project.
While some spoke up in support of much-needed traffic improvements for the area that the project promised, several more expressed concern about how those improvements were being implemented, saying the developer is not doing enough to accommodate the increased number of cars.
The city held five hearings on the project — the maximum allowable by law — and expanded the environmental impact report, after receiving more than 500 comments during the public-input period on the 31-acre property.
For R. Weston Monroe, the named plaintiff in the writ seeking to halt the project, the identity of the defendant continues to be an issue.
“The central issue remains: Who is the actual project applicant?” Monroe wrote in an editorial letter that published in The Signal on May 1. “Official documents, including the notice of determination, identify ‘Wiley Canyon LLC,’” he wrote. “That entity does not exist in California Secretary of State records — confirming it was never formed or registered.”
LDAR Wiley Cyn LLC, with Louis Dargenzio as the registered agent, shows up in state records, with a date indicating it was filed in July 2024.
The motion to quash the service contained a statement from an employee of Zello Properties, which was founded by its current CEO, Dargenzio.
The employee claimed that a woman attempted to serve her at Zello’s offices on April 27 at 4123 W. Olive Ave, in Burbank. The statement claims the woman was told that she could leave the information for Dargenzio, and he would get back to her.
Instead, according to the Zello Properties employee, the woman said, “You’ve been served,” and “tossed” her the envelope.
The next court date for the case in front of Judge Jon Takasugi is Sept. 23.
