The Santa Clarita City Council on Tuesday is expected to take up a controversial plan to fill the former home of the Saugus Speedway — and later its swap meet — with condos.
Santa Clarita City Manager Ken Striplin is asking the City Council to approve an amendment eliminating 100 jobs from a plan in favor of 107 homes, just weeks before the area will have its first-ever district representative sworn into office.
The change of plans to Riverview, which is a now-vacant fenced-off property near 22500 Soledad Canyon Road, would “eliminate the required commercial floor area ratio of the mixed-use zone, and modify two conditions of approval approved under (a previous application).”
John Musella, a spokesman for project developer Integral Communities, declined to comment on the project. During the planning process, Lennar was identified as the building partner.
The plan drew ire from the city’s Planning Commission when it was reviewed in 2024. The body voted 2-2 on the project, which essentially stalls a project — and then Mayor Laurene Weste appealed on behalf of the developer.
The Planning Commission expressed concerns about how the city would meet its required state housing allocation, if it continually allowed developers to ignore the city’s permitted allocations.
The city’s state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment, a plan the city must submit every eight years showing the city’s capacity for housing, “contemplated” 225 low-income units and 567 moderate-income units on the 35-acre property, as well as a mix of low- to moderate-income housing.
During the City Council discussion, city attorney Joe Montes said the council could only deny a project on those grounds if it could prove that project would force the city to miss its allocation. Striplin said he was confident the city would not meet its state allocation mandate regardless.
The developer’s plan that the council approved in 2024 called for 318 homes (22 affordable) and 127,000 square feet of warehouse space.
In exchange for letting the developer’s plan go below even the minimum estimate for that housing in favor of market-rate units, Peter Vanek, principal for Integral, agreed to spend about $500,000 on projects in the city: $250,000 toward a trail that would connect the project to Ruether Avenue; $100,000 into the city’s low-income housing fund; and $150,000 toward the restoration of the Pardee House, planned to become a museum as part of the Santa Clarita History Center in William S. Hart Park.
Now the council is being asked to take another look so more housing can be built in lieu of the warehouse space.
It’s still unclear as of press time who will be sworn in next month as District 2’s first representative. Brett Haddoak (40.23% of the vote so far) led Denise Lite (39.16%) by 175 votes as of Friday afternoon, with another ballot count update expected to be released Saturday.
The county is scheduled to certify the results no later than Nov. 27. It’s unknown how many ballots remain to be counted in District 2.
