The Santa Clarita Planning Commission is planning to hold a hearing on the Beclaro in Sand Canyon project, a plan for 341 homes on 193 acres east of Sand Canyon and Lost Canyon roads, north of Sand Canyon Country Club.
A publicly posted notice circulated online by residents concerned about the project noted end-of-day Friday as the deadline for residents to share comments about the plan if they’d like them to be considered at the hearing. The hearing is scheduled for July 7, according to the notice.
Similar to the Belcaro community in Valencia, the project is expected to develop age-restricted homes.
City planners said during a virtual site tour in January that the dirt roads surrounding the project weren’t yet suitable for a tour bus, according to city project planner Andrew Olsen.
There’s planned access to the site from Lost Canyon Road, connecting Sand Canyon Road to the proposed “A” Street on-site, per the project’s plans.
“Belcaro at Sand Canyon is designed to be a vibrant, wellness-centered community for Santa Clarita’s seniors,” according to Adam Browning, president of New Urban West, in a previous statement sent via email by spokesman John Musella. “We’re using our highly sought-after, award-winning Belcaro Valencia community as the inspiration for this new, age-restricted community which prioritizes preserving over half of the land as open space and creating 4.4 miles of trails. We believe Belcaro Sand Canyon will be a place where 55-plus Sand Canyon residents can downsize within the canyon they love, or families in the canyon can move their parents and grandparents to be close to them.”
The social media discussion from residents has included concerns about traffic and circulation, particularly from the equestrian community, which also had questions about the trail improvements.
Christina Hazlewood, who lives near the project, shared several concerns about the project in an email Friday.
“Residents of the Sand Canyon community are strongly opposed to the proposed Belcaro development because Lost Canyon Road already lacks the capacity to safely handle the significant increase in traffic,” she wrote. “We are deeply concerned that, without a direct bridge or freeway connection, residents could face dangerous evacuation delays during wildfires, floods or other emergencies. Our community believes this project is incompatible with the character of our neighborhood and should not move forward until critical infrastructure and public safety concerns are fully addressed.”
The existing Lost Canyon Road would be improved and extended to connect to the development with a proposed railroad undercrossing. The project would also improve the existing intersection of Sand Canyon Road and Lost Canyon Road with a roundabout.
The project calls for trail construction nearby, including an approximately 0.6-mile off-site trail along the northern side of Lost Canyon Road, which would connect to the project’s proposed on-site trail to Sand Canyon Road. An additional 0.3-mile trail would also be constructed on the west side of a new street proposed for the plan, which would connect the project’s proposed trail network to the off-site trails within Robinson Ranch to the southern portion of the project site.
The breakdown of land use for the project, according to planning documents, is 58.7 acres for the 341 homes, with 682 fully enclosed garage parking spaces and 537 unenclosed street parking spaces available. The maximum height for the homes is just under 28 feet.
There’s also a 3-acre recreation area and clubhouse being planned, in addition to about 22 acres of access and street improvements and 106 acres of open space.
