`10 Years From Now`

Transcription

`10 Years From Now`

Santa Clarita Valley: A Look Into the Future
Progress
2007
‘10 Years From Now’
Housing
SCV Economy
Diversity
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Also Inside:
Results of the
11th annual SCV Progress
student essay contest
Education
Public Safety
The Environment
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CENTURY 21
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RE/MAX
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PRUDENTIAL
9%
COLDWELL
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8%
GMAC
3%
ERA
2%
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INTERNET VISITS
(In Millions)
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ESTATE FIRMS
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150,000
100,000
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5. PrudentialProperities.com – 530,000/per month
6. KW.com – 480,000/per month
(Other Realty companies had LESS than 250,000 visits)
Source: Comscore media metrix 9/06
75,000
50,000
RE/MAX
C-21
RE/MAX
125,000
KW
CB
PRU
25,000
REALTY
EXECUTIVES
0
Number of Agents in Thousands
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Santa Clarita Valley: A Look Into the Future
Progress
2007
Contents
Movin’ On Up!
The SCV economy is expected to follow a new model . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
A Familiar Environmental Front
A special publication
of The Signal
Santa Clarita Valley’s
hometown newspaper
since 1919
Water, Bermite, the Santa Clara River still in the spotlight . . . . . . . . . 10
Something Unique at the Bermite Site
As the cleanup progresses, planners ponder the options. . . . . . . . . . 11
Cement and a Cease-Fire
The future remains in doubt for the Soledad mining site . . . . . . . . . . 12
Rebuilding the Trust
Hart District looks to dig out from financial woes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Publisher
Richard Budman
Page 14
Today’s Construction, Tomorrow’s Classrooms
Local school districts plan for a continuing influx of students . . . . . . . 16
Keeping the Law Ahead of Growth
On Page 37
Student Essay
Winners
For this year’s
“Progress” essay contest, local students
were asked to write
about the following
topic: “Picture yourself
in the year 2017 as a
candidate for mayor.
How has the Santa
Clarita Valley changed
since 2007, and what
would you say in your
campaign speech to
convince voters they
should elect you?”
Hundreds of entries
were received, and in
this edition, the winners are announced
and the top essays are
published.
Local law enforcement plans new facilities, new technology . . . . . . . 24
The Valley’s Historic Downtown
Improvements are under way in Old Newhall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Healthy Hospital = Healthy SCV
Henry Mayo plans expansion to accommodate growing needs . . . . . 28
A Taste of Culture
SCV options for arts, entertainment are expanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Page 30
COC at the Arts Forefront
The community college expands its own arts offerings . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Two College Campuses, and Counting
College of the Canyons readies its second SCV campus. . . . . . . . . . 34
Where the New Neighbors Will Live
The local real estate market is expected to stay lively . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Another Way to Grow
Santa Clarita looks at annexations, while new cities may sprout . . . . 46
The SCV’s New Look
The community is becoming more diverse as it grows . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Page 45
Progress Commentary
Ken Pulskamp.........................6
Cameron Smyth......................6
Michael Antonovich.................7
Marsha McLean....................23
Marlee Lauffer.......................27
Rick Patterson.......................38
Dianne Van Hook ..................39
Maria Gutzeit ........................40
Carl Boyer .............................41
Roger Seaver........................42
Greg Nutter ...........................42
Laurene Weste......................44
Ken Striplin ...........................53
Holly Schroeder ....................54
Diane Trautman.....................55
John Boston.........................56
Bruce McFarland ..................57
TimBen Boydston .................59
Page 46
6
SCV Progress, Sunday, March 25, 2007
City: Building on 20 Years of Success
I
n case you haven’t heard, 2007 marks
the 20th year of cityhood. With
numerous accolades like being named
the best city to live in California by
CNN/Money Magazine, and one of
America’s Promise top 100 communities
for youth, Santa Clarita’s flair for success
is getting noticed!
In the years to come, the city of Santa
Clarita will continue to embrace the idea
of a healthy Santa Clarita. Projects like
the award-winning “green”
environmentally friendly Transit
Maintenance Facility, the addition and
improvement of 17 beautiful city parks,
34 miles of off-street trails and bringing
over 3,000 acres of land into public
ownership are just the beginning.
As the city moves forward over the
next two decades, more emphasis will be
placed on a variety of important goals
including bringing in more regional,
sporting and cultural events. The city has
proven its ability to host major events like
the Amgen Tour of California
professional bicycle race, the AT&T Golf
Classic, the annual Santa Clarita
Marathon, Summer Concerts in the Parks,
the annual Cowboy Festival and Street
Arts Festival.
In the future, new large-scale events
and state-of-the-art facilities will enhance
both the quality of life for residents, as
Ken
Pulskamp
City Manager
well as have a tremendous economic
development impact for local businesses.
Over the next several years, the
redevelopment of Downtown Newhall,
including the North Newhall Specific
Plan, will literally transform this area of
our city. The revitalization efforts will
include new infrastructure, new shops,
restaurants, cinemas and services.
Downtown Newhall will soon
transform into a pedestrian-friendly
community, beautified by lush
streetscape, all while maintaining the
area’s historical character. On the east
side of town, the city will add to its
impressive list of projects with more
beautification projects, as well as a major
expansion of the Santa Clarita Sports
Complex to include basketball courts, a
hockey rink, a larger skate park, a dog
park, new playing fields and possibly a
‘As the city moves forward over the next two
decades, more emphasis will be placed on a
variety of important goals including bringing
in more regional, sporting and cultural events.’
new community center for seniors and
teens.
The centerpiece of the city’s road
infrastructure plan, the cross-valley
connector, will improve traffic flow and
reduce travel time by providing a new,
8.5-mile roadway connecting I-5/126
with SR 14 through the city. This key
road project is expected to be completed
within the next two years. Construction is
ongoing for an expanded Magic
Mountain Parkway and I-5 which will
provide more lanes and better traffic flow
in this area. Other new roadway plans
include a new HOV lane on the I-5, and
new connections for Magic Mountain
Parkway and Via Princessa, which will
ease commutes through the city.
The next 10 years will see more global
innovation and technology that will
contribute to Santa Clarita’s success as a
young city. Continuing preservation of
open space, more off-street trails and
parks, community-wide Wi-Fi for ease of
Internet use, a new “fly-away,” proud new
city street signs and artistic city entrance
features, as well as bigger projects like an
outdoor amphitheater, a centrally located
convention center and the redevelopment
of Old Town Newhall are sure to make
Santa Clarita the place to be in the 21st
century.
From the convergence of technology
and transit, to the increase in trails, open
space and parks, the city of Santa Clarita
will continue to be a top destination
location in California.
Ken Pulskamp is Santa Clarita’s city
manager. His column reflects his own
views, and not necessarily those of The
Signal.
Working to Preserve SCV Quality of Life
T
he quality of life in the Santa
Clarita Valley is second to none,
and that is no accident. As a
former council member and mayor, I
have seen firsthand the effort of the
entire community, along with city
leaders, to provide the best educational
opportunities for our children, the
highest levels of public safety, and the
most effective solutions for fixing the
major congestion problems within the
city.
Now, as a member of the California
State Assembly, I will continue to put
the same hard work and passion into my
work at the state level on behalf of our
residents. You can be assured that your
voice will be heard in Sacramento, and
that the future of Santa Clarita will
remain as bright as it is today.
I am a product of the public school
system in the Santa Clarita Valley and,
coming from a family of educators, I
recognize firsthand the importance
education holds for the residents of our
community. The schools in our valley
are consistently recognized for
academic excellence and continually
prepare our students for a college
career.
However, Santa Clarita, along with
the rest of California, has begun to
Cameron
Smyth
Assemblyman
recognize that not every student will
attend a four-year university. As a
result, career tech education must
become an emphasis in order to expose
and prepare students for job
opportunities immediately upon
graduation. In order for school districts
to accommodate the additional
curriculum, the state must provide
adequate funding and the Legislature is
working to do just that.
“One of the safest cities in America”
is a title that I am very happy to say
when discussing Santa Clarita to my
fellow legislators in Sacramento — and
we must work together to maintain that
status. Santa Clarita is one of the few
cities in the state that actually spend
more money on parks programs than
law enforcement. However, gang
activity continues to threaten many
communities throughout California, and
Santa Clarita is not immune.
Working with Sen. George Runner,
we are developing legislation that will
provide our local law enforcement the
tools necessary to protect Santa Clarita.
Additionally, I will fight efforts to relax
the Three Strikes Law enacted by the
voters in 1994, the transfer of prisoners
from state jails to county jails and the
potential early release of state prisoners,
all of which are being discussed in
Sacramento.
Lastly, an issue that impacts all of us:
Transportation. Just hearing that word
may make many of us cringe with
thoughts of painfully long drives to notso-far destinations. All one has to do is
drive the 14, the 5, the 405, Soledad
Canyon and McBean Parkway, to realize
that transportation is and will continue
to be one of the most pressing issues
facing this region. Too many residents
spend too much time away from their
families stuck in gridlock.
The passage of Proposition 1B
provides a great influx of cash, which
will benefit transportation
improvements on the 5, 405 and local
roads. Beneficial as it may be, that
money is temporary and we need to
continue our search for additional
funding avenues to alleviate traffic. The
voters have now decided — twice —
that our gasoline tax dollars must be
spent on transportation projects alone.
I wholeheartedly agree, and will do
what I can to ensure that the wishes of
the voters are fulfilled. I will continue
to work with county and city officials to
make certain they receive deserved
funding for local road projects, such as
the cross-valley connector. I will also
work with our transportation alliances
and regional entities to ensure that we
have master plans in place and that
those plans are heard loud and clear in
Sacramento.
Finally, I am proud to represent this
community, as I have grown up with it.
It is our shared pride that makes the
Santa Clarita Valley such a wonderful
place to live. It is that same shared pride
that will make certain the future of the
Santa Clarita Valley remains as strong
and prosperous as it is today.
Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita,
represents the Santa Clarita and Simi
valleys, Glendale and portions of Los
Angeles in the state Assembly. His
column reflects his own views, and not
necessarily those of The Signal.
Sunday, March 25, 2007 SCV Progress 7
SCV: A Los Angeles County Gem
T
he Santa Clarita Valley is one of the
true gems of Los Angeles County,
offering residents an outstanding
quality of life. The valley enjoys a rich
environment of regional and local parks,
expansive trail systems, lakes and natural
wildlife areas — and with one of the
fastest-growing economies in the nation,
good schools and a large educated
workforce, it is an ideal place to call home
or operate a business.
Los Angeles County is committed to
ensuring that our residents have the highestquality municipal and safety services for the
300,000 citizens who reside in our more
than 14 unincorporated communities and in
the city of Santa Clarita.
By providing our citizens with
infrastructure, safe streets, quality schools,
affordable housing and the opportunity to
grow a business without burdensome
regulations and taxes, we can create jobs and
further boost the valley’s economic status.
My office works to provide the valley’s
multitude of county services, including law
enforcement, justice, fire, emergency
management, probation, libraries, parks and
trails as well as services for seniors, children
and families.
Our transportation system is integral to
maintaining our quality of life. To ease
congestion and improve mobility, we are
Michael
Antonovich
County
Supervisor
working to complete construction of the
cross valley connector, build out Interstate 5,
and State Route 14, and the 138.
Future projects include the High Desert
Corridor that will divert truck traffic around
the Santa Clarita Valley and an inland port
facility that will give trucks an alternative to
using Interstate 5 as the main route to the
ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
To provide Santa Clarita Valley residents
with a convenient alternative to LAX, we are
developing a regional airport system that
includes L.A. Palmdale airport that will soon
be offering flights to San Francisco on
United Airlines.
Upgrading Metrolink tracks between
Santa Clarita Valley and Palmdale will
improve transit access to the airport and
regional commuter travel times. Adding
more train service to downtown Los Angeles
‘The valley enjoys a rich environment of
regional and local parks, expansive trail
systems, lakes and natural wildlife areas...’
will provide additional, dependable transit
options for Santa Clarita Valley residents.
Funding these programs will require that the
Santa Clarita Valley receives its fair share of
regional funding from the Los Angeles Citycentric MTA Board.
Along with schools, safe streets and
transportation, we need to continue
maintaining and expanding our
recreational opportunities.
Working with the city and the
community, we successfully prevented
Elsmere Canyon from becoming a landfill
and are hopeful that the property was
recently transferred to public ownership,
creating additional open space.
The historic Harry Carey adobe house
and outbuildings at Tesoro del Valle have
been preserved for future generations and
we are improving facilities at the Placerita
Nature Center, Vasquez Rocks County Park
and Castaic Lake.
To provide much-needed swimming
programs, we have invested over $10
million in the Castaic sports complex
aquatic center that is in design and
scope phases.
New thinking, quality programs and
services, and innovative proposals are the
starting points for addressing the valley’s
future cooperatively.
We look forward to working together with
the city of Santa Clarita, our town council
members, and businesses and parents, to
realize our mutual vision and prepare for a
prosperous future.
For more information on county-related
services, resources and community events,
visit my website, www.antonovich.com, or
contact my SCV office at (661) 287-3657.
Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich
represents the Santa Clarita Valley on the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
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Movin’ On Up...
An influx of new
businesses in the
coming decade paints a
bright picture for the
Santa Clarita Valley’s
economic future.
■
By Reina V. Slutske
SIGNAL BUSINESS WRITER
I
n 10 years, the idea of Santa Clarita as
a “bedroom community” might be a
thing of the past.
“A lot of businesses are moving into
Santa Clarita,” said Jack Kyser, chief
economist for the Los Angeles County
Economic Development Corp., citing the
city’s positive attitude toward business
and businesses’ need for extra space.
With the area still having land in order
to grow, the Santa Clarita Valley, which
boasts such attractions as Six Flags
Magic Mountain and the Westfield Valencia Town Center and the promise of additional housing developments, experts say
that the outlook for the next 10 years is
bright.
“We, as a community, are poised for
success in the future,” said Dena Maloney, dean of economic development at
College of the Canyons.
Kyser said the Santa Clarita Valley’s
mirror for development is Irvine, where
not only residential has developed, but
also business has developed both out and
up.
“Irvine started low-rise, now it’s highrise,” he said, citing many buildings in the
area, and saying that Santa Clarita will try
to mirror that.
Larry Mankin, president and CEO of
the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of
Commerce, agreed with the idea to build
up instead of out.
“When we allow urban sprawl, it’s not
good for any community,” he said.
That was echoed by Marlee Lauffer,
spokeswoman for The Newhall Land and
Farming Co.
“As the Santa Clarita Valley matures,
we’re going to see more high-rise, vertical construction,” she said.
Mankin added that although it’s tempting to be able to build out rather than up,
it can make the community, “a not-sonice suburban place to live.”
There has been a greater emphasis on
mixed-use developments, with retail on
Photos by BRYAN KNEIDING/The Signal
Economic forecasters are predicting that things will be looking “up” for the Santa Clarita Valley economy, in
more ways than one: Not only is the valley poised for success, but it’s anticipated that future business
growth will bring about taller commercial buildings clustered together in economic centers, such as what’s
found around the Valencia Town Center mall.
the first floor and housing on other floors,
Maloney said.
“It also creates a more downtown feel,”
she said, “where people are living and
working in the same area.”
The downtown feel would expand to
the Town Center.
Jalina Warner, marketing director for
the mall, said they believe the expansion
will occur in the next 10 years.
The expansion of the Town Center
would make the area around it a more
“downtown center,” Mankin said.
The expansion will have more of an
“outdoor patio” feel which will “fit more
within the outdoor lifestyle context of
Valencia,” Warner said.
In addition, she said new restaurants
and retailers would also add more jobs
into the Santa Clarita Valley.
Kyser said it would be interesting to
see where the development of the Town
Center would go and what businesses
they would select to go in.
Warner said they often take the sugges-
tions of community members into consideration when selecting retailers and
restaurants.
Maloney said although she was not
privy to information regarding the expan-
sion, there has been interest in a high-end
department store such as a Nordstrom.
Kyser said that even though chain
restaurants such as Olive Garden and
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Environmentalists Know the Drill
As growth continues
over the next 10 years,
the environmental
debates, issues and
concerns are expected
to be familiar ones.
■
By Katherine Geyer
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
R
apid growth and development is
nothing new to Santa Clarita and, if
projections are accurate, the city
will gain more than 2,000 residents
a year for the next 10 years.
But local environmentalists, with a watchful eye on future housing developments, said
that a climb in the population ticker means
increasing threats to the local environment.
They said they expect the biggest environmental problems in the next decade to be an
amplification of the valley’s existing problems. And, they said, few Santa Clarita residents are fully aware of what those problems
are.
The top concern, they said, is the Santa
Clarita Valley’s water supply. The valley gets
about half of its water from the state’s water
supply, which comes to the valley by way of
the California Aqueduct, and the other half
comes from the valley’s underground aquifer.
Both, they said, provide only a finite supply.
“We need to look at statewide water storage and water recycling,” said Maria Gutzeit,
vice president of the board of directors for the
Newhall County Water District. She said the
valley is suffering from a year of drought and
that years like this should remind people of
the importance of planning ahead.
“Nobody thinks we have a water supply
problem because when you turn on the tap,
water comes out,” Gutzeit said. She said that
when water problems arise, the solution is
usually not a quick fix.
“The reality is that you need a lot of planning ahead, building infrastructure, pipelines
and aqueducts, but things like that take years
to get through the permitting process,” she
said. “We can’t wait until we have a bad
drought and everybody’s lawns and trees
die.”
Relying on the state water supply could be
dangerous because if there are long periods of
drought, water from the state water project is
not always available, said Henry Shultz,
chairman of the Santa Clarita chapter of the
Sierra Club.
“You’re limited from what comes down
from the north,” he said. “You have to have
some sort of plan that accounts for drought
situations because they’re coming.”
He also said the aqueduct, which was
JOSH PREMAKO/The Signal
While the issue of soil and groundwater contamination at the former Whittaker-Bermite site has become a familiar
matter on the local political scene, it is still believed the groundwater cleanup could take several more decades.
(See related story, page 11.)
designed in the 1960s, was not built to hold
the amount of water the valley may someday
demand.
Environmentalists have also been watching the groundwater beneath the 996-acre,
former Whittaker-Bermite site that was home
to a weapons manufacturing plant for several
decades of the 20th century.
The soil and some of the groundwater
beneath it is contaminated with perchlorate, a
rocket fuel component that has been linked to
thyroid problems.
Jose Diaz, the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s project manager for the
cleanup, said he expects the soil cleanup to be
finished in three to five years. The groundwater treatments could take 30 to 40 years, he
said.
Another top concern is the valley’s air
quality, which environmentalists said is
already suffering.
“People right now will look at the sky and
think it’s nice and blue and that we have clean
skies, but ozone makes the sky look bluer
than it actually is,” said Lynne Plambeck,
president of the Santa Clarita Organization
for Planning the Environment. “We’re out of
compliance on federal air pollution standards
in two areas — ozone pollution and particulate matter,” she said.
Shultz said the combination of Santa Clari-
ta’s vehicle traffic and topography makes the
valley prone to poor air quality. “We get an
onshore flow that pushes up over from the
(San Fernando) Valley and it drops into our
valley, which is closed and surrounded by
mountains that hold it in,” he said.
He said the plans for large-scale sand and
gravel mining by Cemex Inc. in Soledad
Canyon also poses a threat to air quality. He
said the exhaust from trucks and particulate
matter from the mining could cause significant air quality problems.
Plambeck said another environmental concern is that the Santa Clara River is being
threatened by housing developments like the
21,000-home Newhall Ranch that will be
built along the river west of Magic Mountain.
“It’s important to preserve (the river)
because it’s a community treasure that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Los Angeles County,” she said. “It’s the last non-channeled
river.”
She said development in the floodplain is
the biggest threat to the river. She said that if
the river floods into someone’s property,
there’s a chance the river will be channeled
with concrete. She said the river is also home
to birds, fish and amphibians, some of which
are endangered species.
The common element in all of the valley’s
future environmental problems, environmen-
talists said, is the construction of new housing
developments.
The city of Santa Clarita may soon bring
forth another measure that would allow the
city to purchase undeveloped land that would
be preserved as open space.
Darren Hernandez, the city’s director of
administrative services, said that although
decisions regarding the details have not yet
been made, he expects that the open space
would consist of a mixture of parks and natural open space.
Gutzeit, however, said that even parks can
have a negative impact on the environment.
“Turf grass is one of the highest water uses,
so we need to question whether we need
grass everywhere,” she said.
Hernandez said the city is looking into
ways to make the parks more environmentally friendly. He said the main goal is to prevent
land from being developed. “In terms of the
environment, soccer fields are better than
subdivisions,” he said.
Many environmentalists point to Newhall
Ranch as the biggest environmental threat to
the valley. But half of the 12,000 acres will be
set aside as open space for public use, said
Marlee Lauffer, spokeswoman for The
Newhall Land and Farming Co. She also said
the developer will be transforming land curSee ENVIRONMENT, page 22
Filling the Hole
in the Doughnut
Local leaders want something ‘truly unique’ to be built on
the former Bermite munitions manufacturing property.
■
By Josh Premako
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
T
JOSH PREMAKO/The Signal
While the signs at the former Whittaker-Bermite site may be
foreboding, local planners have high hopes for the land.
en years from now, what will Santa Clarita
look like? At least one thing is pretty certain to some city officials: By 2017, development should be underway at the last remaining
large expanse of open land, the city’s proverbial
doughnut hole in the middle of this community.
Home to munitions manufacturing and testing
for decades, the former Whittaker-Bermite property covers nearly 1,000 acres in the Saugus area,
roughly framed by San Fernando, Soledad
Canyon and Golden Valley roads.
“Everybody is on the same page ... (and) they
want something truly unique,” said city planning
manager Lisa Hardy. “It needs to be community-
serving in nature.”
Contaminated by years of chemical exposure,
the 996-acre site holds a wealth of possibilities
for city planners.
Hardy said any development on the land needs
to have a certain element of “specialness.”
Among other things, that will likely include
mixed-use, transit-oriented development near the
Metrolink train station on Soledad Canyon Road.
A conference center or entertainment venue
could figure into the plans, she said.
Additionally, Hardy said the city would be
interested in capitalizing on sports tourism, and
could perhaps incorporate some sort of sports
facility.
Likely welcome news to those concerned about
See BERMITE, page 22
12
Still Nothing Concrete
■ The
city of Santa
Clarita and cement
giant Cemex have
announced a cease-fire,
but the future of the
Soledad Canyon
mining plan remains
very much in doubt.
By Josh Premako
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
T
here may be a cease-fire in effect,
but it still remains to be seen what
will become of one of the valley’s
most controversial plots of land.
Ten years from now, will a 434-acre site
in Soledad Canyon be home to a massive
sand and gravel mine, or will the city have
triumphed in a Herculean effort to prevent
a global corporation from doing what it
wants?
At a cost of more than $8 million, the
city’s years-long battle opposed the plans
of Cemex Inc. to begin operating the 69million-ton, 20-year mining in Soledad
Canyon starting in 2008.
Earlier this year, officials from both the
city and the corporation announced a oneyear truce to discuss the situation and see if
a resolution can be reached.
In addition to the city backing off from
its opposition, Cemex — the third largest
supplier of cement worldwide — will hold
off on any permitting processes.
The city owns the property, but Cemex
has already been granted mineral rights by
the federal Bureau of Land Management.
By 2017, city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz
said her best-case scenario would include
Cemex having relinquished its two, 10year leases and offering the land to be park
space, and the BLM having rethought its
stance and decided not to reissue the leases
to another company.
That, of course, is the best case.
Ortiz acknowledged that it is possible
the mine could begin operating, though her
hope is that it would be held to what the
city has termed “historical levels” of about
300,000 tons per year.
Mining in Soledad Canyon has been
ongoing for many decades, including the
site in question.
With continued development in Southern California, she said the aggregate at the
Soledad Canyon site is too high quality to
be ignored.
Photos by BRYAN KNEIDING/The Signal
Santa Clarita City Planner Kai Luoma (below) gives a tour of the proposed Cemex mining site in Soledad Canyon,
where city officials hope mining can be restricted to historic levels.
As far as Ortiz is concerned, the city will
be successful in its efforts to legislatively
stymie the mining project.
To date, several unsuccessful bills related to the mine have been introduced by
U.S. Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon.
With the truce in place, the city and
Cemex are aiming to work out the foundation for some sort of new bill to be introduced by McKeon, R-Santa Clarita.
As of yet, Ortiz said nothing is solidified.
Susana Duarte, spokeswoman for
Cemex’s U.S. operations, could not be
reached for comment.
City officials have staunchly opposed
the mine, saying it would add too much
traffic to the freeways and dust in the air.
The site sits east of Highway 14, south
of Agua Dulce Canyon Road, about one
mile from some homes in the Canyon
Country development of Stonecrest.
In the event no mining takes place on the
property, Ortiz said the most likely use
would be to maintain it as open space.
That was echoed by Maria Gutzeit, a
local environmentalist and vice president
of the Newhall County Water District
board.
“I think that is a really critical piece of
open space,” she said. “If we have an
opportunity to keep it open space that
would be nice.”
Acknowledging that active mining on
the site could become a reality, Gutzeit said
if that is the case in 10 years, she wants to
see full enforcement of environmental
compliance regulations.
While the city owns the mine property
— and several hundred surrounding acres,
for a total of about 900 acres — it is located in unincorporated Los Angeles County.
Since becoming a city in 1987, Santa
Clarita has completed nearly 30 annexations, and Ortiz said she sees no reason
why the site won’t be annexed within the
See CEMEX, page 22
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Getting Hart’s House In Order
By Jessica Marks
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
W
ith their plate full of construction projects, financial
troubles and public criticism, it’s not an easy task
for Hart district officials to look 10 years
into the future and see what lies ahead for
them.
It was a totally different story six years
ago.
Then, the William S. Hart Union High
School District was flush with money. It
had been given millions in hardship funds
from the state and then voters passed Measure V in 2001, a bond that gave the district $158 million to fix its schools.
The district had grand plans. It would
fix up all the schools in the district —
some near 50 years old — and build a few
more.
Since then, the district built three new
schools and began modernizing three others.
The new construction of Golden Valley
and West Ranch high schools and Rancho
■ The
SCV’s high school district has been
dealing with financial difficulties — including
spiraling costs of campus remodeling — but the
district’s leaders feel confident they can rebuild
the public’s trust.
Pico Junior High School filled the needs
for a population surge of students that had
crowded the other aging schools in the district — and those projects came in relatively close to budget.
However, the remodeling of Saugus and
Canyon High schools and Arroyo Seco
Junior High School went wildly out of
control.
For months, the school board passed
expensive change orders.
At least one district employee — Rory
Livingston, the district’s former assistant
superintendent of business services — was
reported to have squandered hundreds of
thousands of dollars by ordering unnecessary projects and hiding the slipping budget from the board members.
Livingston left the district in July, and
he was long gone when his replacement
brought the details to light in September.
The result: The district had lost almost
$40 million in the process and wouldn’t
have enough money to finish its plans.
As was said in a recent study session,
the school board would not have the funds
to make necessary repairs to its old, crumbling schools unless another bond measure
was passed — a venture many believe
would fail miserably today, given the current climate.
“You’re right. We couldn’t raise 5 cents
now,” board member Dennis King said at a
Feb. 21 board meeting when faced with the
issue.
“The problem is, the public has lost trust
in us,” said board member Gloria Mercado-Fortine. “We say we’re going to do one
thing and then we don’t follow through.”
At the moment, the Hart district is
working to rebuild that trust. There is talk
of changing the way the district does business with developers and also of starting a
marketing campaign meant to boost the
public’s perception of how well local
schools perform academically, athletically
and socially.
Perhaps, it would boost how the public
views the board fiscally as well.
District officials hold out hope.
“We’ll figure out a way to gain confidence again,” district chief financial officer Sue Guthrie said.
That would help get a bond extension
See HART, page 20
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16
Building Today, Educating Tomorrow
New development is
expected to continue in
the SCV, so local
school districts are
making plans for new
campuses to be built
throughout the valley.
■
By Jesse Muñoz
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
W
hile housing development
across the Santa Clarita Valley
is scheduled to continue in the
coming decades, local school
districts must begin planning now for such
growth — plans that will assuredly mean the
building of several new school sites.
In the Sulphur Springs Union School District such plans are already underway, with
construction on the district’s ninth school site
— Golden Oak Community School — set to
begin in the fall, before an August 2008
opening.
Located near Fair Oaks Ranch Elementary
School, in the Golden Valley development
close to the Highway 14 Via Princessa exit,
the $13 million facility is expected to house
approximately 500 students.
Coming on the heels of that project will be
the construction of the district’s 10th school,
which is operating under the “Spring
Canyon” working title. Located at the edge of
the district’s boundary, the new campus will
be above Soledad Canyon near Pinetree Elementary school.
“Basically these two sites are strategically
located to help us relieve the schools that are
most impacted,” said Sulphur Springs Superintendent Robert Nolet. “And both will help
accommodate future growth.”
Upon opening, the Golden Oak campus
will relieve overcrowding at Fair Oaks Ranch
and Valley View Elementary School —
which have seen their student populations
swell to 1,000 and 770, respectively.
Fair Oaks Ranch is the most impacted
school in the district, despite opening just
four years ago.
“Golden Oak will have significant capacity to support new housing and take relief
from those sites,” Nolet said.
Targeted to open by August 2010, the
Spring Canyon site would also help reduce
overcrowding in the district, by diverting students away from Mitchell, Sulphur Springs
and Pinetree Elementary schools.
“We’ve been working very hard to make
sure we have capacity capabilities for the next
10 years, so that we can house all the students
that will be coming to us,” Nolet said. “We
anticipate that once we get Golden Oak and
BRYAN KNEIDING/The Signal
Joanne Kawamoto, a second-grade teacher at Valencia Valley Elementary School, works on an assignment with
with Jeff Xu. Local elementary school districts are making plans to build new campuses to accommodate a continuing influx of new students.
Spring Canyon, it will really satisfy our housing needs for the next five to seven years.”
Saugus Union School District officials are
taking a similar approach to their future
school site needs, by joining forces with The
Newhall Land and Farming Co. to build a
future school site in response to the ongoing
development within that district’s boundaries.
Located near Rio Norte Junior High
School, the Saugus district’s soon-to-be-built
West Creek Elementary School will help
serve the approximately 2,500 homes in the
West Hills and West Creek communities off
Copper Hill Drive.
While some districts have already begun to
prepare for future growth by moving forward
with school site construction plans, others are
being forced to wait while builders finalize
the size and scope, and receive approval on a
number of pending developments.
“The things that I look at are single-family dwelling units, multi-family dwelling
units, what are the generation rates there
and what is the impact going to be on the
school district,” said Jaime Garcia, Castaic
Union School District director of facilities,
about how the district plans to contend with
various housing developments operating
within its boundaries.
Though a number of developments could
have a significant impact on the district’s
enrollment numbers and subsequent need for
future school site construction, officials are
primarily concerned with the SunCal Companies’ nearly 4,000-home NorthLake development, and the 300-acre, approximately
1,450-home Landmark Village portion of the
21,000-home, 25-year-long Newhall Ranch
community planned west of Interstate 5.
Until the county says they have the development and can move forward, the district
really doesn’t know what to actually expect,
Garcia said.
“But if Landmark and SunCal move forward, and those are the big ones, we’re looking at a few school sites. At least one elementary school and a future middle school,” Garcia said.
Castaic Superintendent Jim Gibson also
sees the progression of both the NorthLake
and Landmark Village developments as reasons for the district to begin planning for
future school site construction.
“I think we’re sure that there will be an elementary school with (Landmark Village),
and the SunCal project will determine if we
can build a school in Sloan Canyon or if we
can build a middle school in that project,”
Gibson said.
“But it’s a matter of if all these projects
materialize,” Gibson added, speculating that
such ongoing developments could cause the
district’s enrollment to approach the 6,000student mark in the coming years, and necessitate the building of an estimated four to five
new Castaic schools — with at least one
being a middle school.
“So we at least prep with our board and
with ourselves for the possibility of that number, and how we would manage it in schools”
Gibson said.
An early estimate by Garcia as to the possible construction timeline of a future Landmark Village elementary school site places
the opening of that campus in the fall of
2010.
Though still bracing for future expansion,
district officials claim to have room available
at each of the district’s four school sites, with
Live Oak Elementary School only beginning
to approach capacity.
“We can absorb students into our current
facilities as the developers move forward,”
Garcia said. “But you try and plan at what
point and time am I going to need to have a
See SCHOOLS, page 18
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Schools
Continued from page 16
school built, and that is what you target.”
Also affected by the massive Newhall Ranch
development will be the Newhall School District, which, with the building of three new
school sites since 2002 — McGrath, Pico
Canyon and Oak Hills Elementary School —
considers itself well-prepared for any growth.
“Barring this new development we’re really
set quite nicely in the district ... So it really
depends on the product they are going to build,”
said Newhall Superintendent Marc Winger
about the effects the Newhall Ranch project
will have on the district. He speculated that at
least four and as many as six new school sites
would probably be needed to accompany the
development over the course of the 25-year
project.
Other projects the Newhall district has been
monitoring include the downtown Newhall
redevelopment, north Newhall and Placerita
Canyon/The Master’s College area development plans.
“That whole area up San Fernando Road we
have an eye on. At least one elementary school
will be required over time as that stuff happens,” Winger said. “The city is really aware of
the need, and we’ve made sure that they are
aware of it.
“We never want to be in a position where
they’re building without school consideration,
and we’ve had some good discussions with (the
Newhall Land and Farming Co.) about that.”
RENEH AGHA/The Signal
Similar to local elementary school districts, the William S. Hart Union High School District is attempting to plan
now for campus construction to accommodate the next decade’s growth. It is expected that 3,538 students will
attend West Ranch High School (above) in the 2016-17 school year — and the school’s designed capacity is
2,600. (See story, page 14.)
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passed, which would in turn bankroll
state matching funds that would help the
district.
She’s optimistic, and so are a lot of
others in the district.
They have to be.
In the next 10 years, projections push
the district’s enrollment through the
roof.
For the 2016/17 school year, Davis
Demographics puts the district at having
27,982 students — roughly 6,000 more
than it has at the moment.
“We’re definitely growing,” district
spokeswoman Pat Willett said.
Areas where it will grow the most
would include the planned Newhall
Ranch community and West Ranch and
Golden Valley high school areas.
Though it is a very rough estimate, it
is expected that 3,538 students will
attend West Ranch High School in the
2016/17 school year — passing the
school’s planned capacity of 2,600.
Golden Valley High School is expected to top 3,133 students that same year
— a school that was built to accommodate the same number as West Ranch.
All of this keeps in mind that the Castaic high school will be finished and
Economy
Applebee’s are popular, there should be
a balance between chains and local
businesses.
“You have the chains, but you do
want local restaurants that have character,” he said.
Mankin said his vision of the valley
in the next decade also includes culture, such as having sports and an arts
community.
“I don’t think we’ve realized we are
in a desirable area,” he said.
The goal is to not have to go into Los
Angeles in order to have quality entertainment and events, “so (residents)
don’t have to leave the community,”
said Pam Ingram, chairwoman of the
board for the Chamber of Commerce
and a local real estate agent.
According to a survey by the group
Americans for the Arts, every dollar
invested in the arts returns $8 to the
economy, said Phil Lantis, arts and
events administrator for the city.
In the survey, patrons of the arts
across the nation, including in Santa
Clarita, were asked whether they got
gas or went out to eat — all contributors to the local economy.
Mankin said the family-based atmosphere of the Santa Clarita Valley would
also encourage different restaurants,
with the average American family eating out four nights a week.
occupied by 2,407 students.
The Castaic high school, planned to
be opened in the 2010/11 school year,
has yet to be started.
But new schools are on the horizon.
Already, the Santa Clarita Valley
Facilities Foundation, an organization
that buys and develops land for future
Hart district school sites, has purchased
more than 750 acres of land for a future
high school in eastern Canyon Country,
in the proximity of Sierra Highway and
Vasquez Canyon Road.
The site is adjacent to a plot of land
previously purchased to house a junior
high school.
“It’s an ideal location,” Facilities
Foundation president Rick Patterson
said last month. “It’s just a few blocks
away from the COC campus.”
Indeed, the College of the Canyons
Canyon Country site is expected to host
an early college high school that will
steer some of the valley’s youth toward
college — something they ordinarily
would not have considered.
There is a strong possibility that
COC’s Valencia campus might house a
University Center for the Hart district’s
many adult-level educational institutions like Academy of the Canyons,
which, like the early college high school
in Canyon Country, offers students the
chance to take college courses in high
school while getting credit in college.
Maloney said as the community
develops and matures, the demand for
the “soul of the community,” in the
form of arts and entertainment and
other local interests, will rise, and the
market will respond to that.
“As the community expands, there
will be more opportunities ... to make
them available,” she said.
Lantis said plans for future facilities
will help bring out more quality groups
and, in turn, more people.
“You build it, they will come,” he
said.
Kyser said one of the goals of the
local economy is to connect the Santa
Clarita Valley to other areas in Los
Angeles County, so residents would be
able to travel to other areas with ease
and without depending on highways.
Mankin, however, foresees a connection between the Antelope Valley and
the Santa Clarita Valley, and with
growth in both valleys the areas will
combine and begin to grow and change
together.
“Within 20 years, we are going to be
a metroplex,” he said.
In addition, the recruiting of companies and the future of film productions,
in addition to industries such as biotechnology, manufacturing and digital
media, will allow the community to
grow and help improve quality of life
for residents.
“The goal is that we would be a community that would not only be a housing center, but a job center as well,”
Maloney said.
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Environment
rently used for farming into natural open
space.
Gutzeit said developers aren’t always the
ones who should be blamed for the region’s
environmental problems.
“We have developments because the population is increasing,” she said. “The population is growing and people have to live somewhere.” She said she works with the developers to come up with a plan that will have a
minimal impact on the environment.
The environmentalists agreed that Santa
Clarita may be facing some big environmental problems 10 years from now. “It’s a dire
prediction, but it doesn’t have to be that
way,” Plambeck said.
The environmentalists agreed that preventing big problems starts with changing
habits. “When there’s not a sense of urgency,
people like to put off tough decisions,”
Gutzeit said. “People are going to have to
change their minds, just a little bit.
“With enough leadership and vision,” she
said, “we’ll be OK long term.”
FRANCISCA RIVAS/The Signal
The Santa Clara River, which plays
host to a network of recreational
trails, is always on the short list of
local environmental issues.
Cemex
Bermite
next decade.
“In 10 years, I could see the entire valley (being) part of the city,” she said.
Retaining the Cemex site as open space
could fit nicely with the possibility of further development on the east side of the
valley, which could include housing, a
shopping hub and a transit facility.
No mining in Soledad Canyon would
not hamstring the construction industry,
but it would at least affect prices, said Jack
Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
“Right now, the building industry is coping with a high materials cost,” he said.
Late last year, he told The Signal that
the demand for Cemex’s product will
continue to be fed by development projects throughout Southern California,
including The Newhall Land and Farming
Co.’s Valencia-sized, 21,000-home
Newhall Ranch development west of
Interstate 5, with construction set to begin
in the next two years.
“Cement is vital,” Kyser said at the
time.
If Cemex can’t get aggregate from
Soledad Canyon, it will have to look elsewhere.
“(Not mining there) would be somewhat of a long-term negative,” Kyser said.
“We’ll find other sources, and just have to
pay more.”
continued suburban sprawl, Hardy said
that “a lot of the site we want to keep in
an open space, natural state.”
Running along the eastern border of
the property, Golden Valley Road is a
part of the city’s much-touted, Highway
14-to-Interstate 5 cross-valley connector.
With the development of the Whittaker-Bermite property, other roads will
also come into play.
Santa Clarita Parkway will run
through the site, and Magic Mountain
Parkway and Via Princessa will eventually be extended.
“It really becomes a crossroads from a
vehicular standpoint,” Hardy said.
There’s no property that’s as significant
in terms of size and its placement.”
Decades of munitions testing — coupled with less-than-Earth-friendly chemical disposal methods — took its toll on
the expanse of land marked by hills and
ridgelines.
When the company finally shut its
doors in the 1980s, it left behind property that would test positive for perchlorate, a rocket fuel byproduct linked to
problems in the human thyroid.
Cleanup work is already under way on
the soil, headed up by the Department of
Toxic Substances Control.
Studies of the site have reported that
most of the contamination has been at
the surface level, making it easier to
clean up.
However, it is not just the ground that
is contaminated, but the groundwater as
well.
Water cleanup began in 2005 as the
Valencia Water Co. unveiled a perchlorate-scrubbing system for one of its
wells located across the Santa Clara
River from the intersection of Soledad
Canyon and Bouquet Canyon roads.
Cleansing the water and drawing back
the plume of perchlorate will take
decades, said Dan Masnada, general
manager for the Castaic Lake Water
Agency.
However, he said that process should
not impede development from beginning
within the coming decade.
Continued development in the valley
is a reality, and Masnada said overall
that recycled water will need to be used
more often where it can be, and more
conservation efforts need to be made.
The only real issue about WhittakerBermite cleanup, he said, “is who’s paying for it.”
In 2017, Masnada said he expects to
see Whittaker Corp. continuing to pay
for water treatment, “and not the residents of the valley.”
Whittaker sold the Saugus property in
1999.
However, the owner of the land,
Remediation Financial Inc., filed for
bankruptcy in July 2004, at which point
cleanup responsibilities reverted to the
previous owner, Whittaker.
The site was purchased for $63.8 million late last July by developer SunCal
Companies and Cherokee Investment
Partners, which specializes in cleaning
up contaminated sites for resale.
“(Whittaker) didn’t understand that ...
someday it was going to create a nightmare,” said City Councilwoman Laurene
Weste. “What we look forward to is
methodical cleanup.”
As far as timetables for development,
she simply offered, “I’m certain that the
new owners ... have the goal to do it
sooner rather than later.”
Weste echoed Hardy and said conservation of a large portion of the land is
important.
She also said that a convention center
and perhaps some sort of botanical gardens could be a good fit for the land.
In 2017, the hope is for complete
cleanup plans that are well along, said
Maria Gutzeit, vice president of the
Newhall County Water District board
and a local environmentalist.
Open space and parkland ranked high
on her wish list for the property, as well
as the sort of transit-oriented housing
suggested by Hardy.
For the time being, cleanup will continue, and city officials will keep hopes
pinned to the city’s last remaining large
tract of developable land.
Between the work of the DTSC and a
citizen advisory group, Weste said that
“I think that we’ve come a long way
with the Whittaker-Bermite site.”
Solving Today’s Problems with an Eye to the Future
I
t is important to look to the future to
solve the problems we are facing
today. Solving transportation issues
is important to me; therefore, I am
pleased to represent the City Council as
a director on the Orangeline-Maglev
Development Authority.
I am a charter member of the
Leadership Council of the Golden State
Gateway Coalition. I attend meetings
pertaining to north valley transportation
issues and I am an active member of the
League of California Cities and
continue to advocate for our fair share
of monies needed to enhance
transportation opportunities.
In the next 10 years, I hope to see a
new Maglev Station in Santa Clarita.
Our citizens will be able to get to
Downtown Los Angeles in 19 minutes
and to Disneyland in 40 minutes. The
city, as a member of the Orangeline
Maglev Development Authority, has
been working to implement an elevated
magnetic levitation train that would run
from Palmdale to Orange County, a
distance of 110 miles.
Running at speeds of up to 180 mph,
the Maglev uses clean, electromagnetic
levitation to lift and propel passenger
trains along an elevated monorail
guideway. There are Maglev systems in
Marsha
McLean
Mayor,
Santa Clarita
place in China and Germany.
City and Southern California
commuters would be hard-pressed to
find a faster, more reliable form of
transportation. The high-speed
Orangeline maglev system would
improve Santa Clarita’s environment
and economy.
With a significant reduction of cars
on the road, the development of a local
Maglev transit system would provide a
positive impact to air quality and traffic
in the future.
Additionally, the system would
support new housing, commercial and
industrial development located around
the maglev stations.
The authority plans to use
public/private financing. Feasibility
studies just completed demonstrate the
Casual Atmosphere. Come As You Are.
Serious Faith. Great Coffee.
system can show a profit within a few
short years to begin to pay off debt.
In my future, we will have truck lanes
added to the 5 Freeway, so that cars
don’t have to fight for a lane since
trucks now take up three of the four
lanes.
The 14 Freeway will have carpool
lanes in both directions connecting to
the 210, 405 and 118 freeways.
California will finally get its fair
share of transportation funding and our
valley will see a fair share of that
money. The network of roads, such as
the expansion of Via Princessa through
Whittaker-Bermite, will be built to
alleviate local traffic.
There will be more trails and bike
lanes to accommodate those who wish
to cycle for pleasure or to get to work.
It is imperative that there be a
meeting of the minds between the city
and the county to catch up with
infrastructure needs. Any new
development within or outside of the
city limits must provide new roads and
upgrades to existing roads.
There must be adequate recreational
facilities for sports programs, there
must be adequate schools, libraries,
parks and open space.
Another regional hospital facility is a
must. At full build-out, Henry Mayo is
expected to only meet 50 percent of the
needs for the region within the next 25
years.
I’ve been writing since 1989 about
the fight to defeat a proposed 190million-ton landfill in Elsmere Canyon.
I looked forward to the day when the
battle would be over and Elsmere
Canyon would be in public ownership
and preserved forever. I am happy to say
we are 400 acres closer to seeing that
dream come true.
On Wednesday, March 7, the donation
of 400 acres of Elsmere Canyon,
spearheaded by Supervisor Michael
Antonovich, to the Mountains and
Recreation Conservation Authority for
use as an open space preserve received
final approval. There is another
approximately 800 acres that still needs
protection.
It is my pleasure to be serving as the
mayor of the city of Santa Clarita in
2007. The city is celebrating our 20th
anniversary. How we commit to work
toward the future will determine how
we deal with the challenges we face
today.
Marsha McLean is mayor of the city
of Santa Clarita.
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24
Keeping Growth a Step Behind the Law
Expanded special
teams, new technology
and new facilities are
expected to help SCV
law enforcement keep
pace with the needs of
a growing community.
■
By Christi Anne Corpus
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
W
ith estimates of more than
350,000 people calling the
Santa Clarita Valley home
by 2017, one critical issue
that must be examined is the precautions
law enforcement officials will take in
ensuring public safety.
While a force of about 190 sworn personnel and 40 non-sworn employees
staff the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s
Station, officials say changes that will
likely be in place in 10 years range from
expanded special teams to community
programs to technological tools that will
improve service and reduce manpower.
“One of the things we’re going to be
looking at with the growth of the area
and any possible annexations that occur
is that we need to make sure law
enforcement services grow commensurate to the number of residents coming
in to the city,” said city spokeswoman
Gail Ortiz. “Over the next 10 years, one
of the things we’re going to be looking
at in this growth in law enforcement is
the number of deputies we have here at
the Santa Clarita Valley (Sheriff’s) Station.”
“One of the things that is very important to the city is the effect of community policing,” Ortiz added. “We want to
make sure that we have enough community interaction teams in the communities and that we’re providing very good
customer service for the folks that call
in, even if it is a minor service all the
way up to a major thing.”
In addition, sheriff’s officials will
look at expanding the services already
in place, and expect to see a number of
improvements at the current SCV Sheriff’s Station at the city’s civic center.
“To look forward at what will happen
in the future, we’re going to have to
look at what’s happened in the past,”
said Capt. Anthony LaBerge with the
SCV Sheriff’s Station.
“We’re bursting at the seams,” he
added. “The physical building itself was
built in the ’70s to accommodate half of
the station’s current employee count and
WILL DAVISON/The Signal
Local law enforcement leaders are looking to technological improvements and new facilities to help keep the
Santa Clarita Valley’s crime rate low even as the community continues to grow.
we’re already in talks to add stations in
certain spots throughout the valley.”
LaBerge cited the Gorman area as the
possible site of a future sheriff’s station
to accommodate the dramatic growth
and redevelopment in unincorporated
areas of the valley.
“This is the one area in L.A. County
that has space left for redevelopment,”
he added. “Out here is where we’re
going to see huge development and with
that comes all sorts of issues.
“We’re in a dramatically different
position from places like New York,
where they have a force three times our
size in a much denser area,” LaBerge
continued. “There’s no way to keep up
with the massive growth of the valley by
adding the number of deputies alone.”
One thing LaBerge said would
accommodate the growing needs of the
valley is improvement in technological
tools to help expand enforcement while
not overstaffing.
Tools such as the Advanced Surveillance and Protection Program — currently implemented in the city of Compton — would allow officials to mount
wireless cameras at major intersections
and sensitive locations throughout the
valley, which can be controlled from a
remote location and tied to law enforce-
ment databases. The surveillance cameras would prove an effective tool in
monitoring incidents like bank robberies.
“It can be used as an investigative tool
for us that goes far beyond what we
have in place now,” LaBerge said.
“Right now the deputies play what we
call MDT (Mobile Digital Terminal)
Bingo and scan a vehicle if it catches
their attention. This will dramatically
increase the effectiveness, time and
manpower.”
Additionally, LaBerge said unmanned
aerial vehicles are being tested throughout the Sheriff’s Department as a costeffective alternative to manned helicopters.
Lightweight, remote-controlled airplanes with electronic or solar powered
cameras provide aerial views while limiting the cost and manpower.
“If they are successful, they can be
used in monitoring places like Pyramid
Lake and we can see a much larger picture,” he said.
LaBerge also cited new biometric
devices as a possible tool to positively
identify suspects in the field. The handheld device can allow deputies to access
databases by placing someone’s thumb
or handprints on a scanner and tap into
identification and criminal history databases to positively identify a suspected
criminal.
“They take a lot of the guess work out
and are tools that would be nice to have
in some of our units,” LaBerge said.
“Maybe not in all, because of the cost,
but perhaps we would have one in each
area.”
In addition, LaBerge anticipates an
improved emergency 911 system will be
in place that routes calls from GPSenabled cell phones to the sheriff’s station in much less time than the current
process allows.
Currently, calls placed from cell
phones are automatically directed to
California Highway Patrol dispatchers
before being rerouted to proper agencies.
“These are the types of things that we
can employ not only 10 years from now,
but hopefully much sooner,” LaBerge
said.
“For people worried about privacy
issues, my answer is that if you’re not
doing anything wrong, you shouldn’t be
worried about it,” he added. “We have a
large area to cover and we can’t say
we’ll have personnel at all those places.
That’s why we need to use technology,
too. The force multiplies in doing so.”
26
Community leaders envision the historic Downtown Newhall as a quaint shopping and arts district.
A Restripe and a Facelift
By Christi Anne Corpus
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
A
fter years of city discussions
and proposals, an upcoming
road construction project may
pave the way for implementation of the city’s efforts to revitalize the
downtown Newhall area.
The Downtown Newhall Restripe Project,
slated to begin in April, may provide San
Fernando Road the change of face it needs to
attract people and developers to the area and
spark the first few stages of redevelopment.
“The purpose of the redevelopment is
mainly to reintroduce people to the downtown Newhall area,” said Assistant City
Engineer Chris Price. “It’s the first town in
the whole valley, and we’re trying to revitalize it so that people who don’t generally go
down there can drive down the future Main
Street and shop or try a restaurant or two.”
The city’s revitalization plan specifically
targets a stretch of San Fernando Road from
14th Street to 50 yards south of Pine Street,
and Lyons Avenue between San Fernando
Road and Newhall Avenue as the focus of
redevelopment to create an arts- and pedestrian-friendly environment.
“We’re hoping people will start saying
there are some nice places down here and
that Main Street is really a pleasant place to
go that attracts more people,” Price said.
“Those people can attract more development, and we’re really hoping it creates an
attraction that people all over the Santa Clarita Valley would want to visit more regularly.”
■ The
redevelopment of Downtown Newhall
will soon take an obvious turn with the restriping
of San Fernando Road, part of the overall effort to
create a pedestrian-friendly destination.
The road restripe project will aid the city
in attracting more pedestrians by providing a
less traffic-congested thoroughfare and a
more Main Street atmosphere by diverting
much of the through traffic onto Railroad
Avenue.
Two of San Fernando Road’s lanes in the
southern direction are planned to link to
Railroad Avenue while San Fernando Road,
from Lyons Avenue south to Fifth Street, is
also set to be striped with about 160 back-in
parking spaces.
“San Fernando Road through downtown
Newhall will be completely converted to
being Main Street,” Price said. “So we’ll have
angled parking and the streetscape in place,
which would consist of more landscaping,
wider sidewalk areas with benches and streetlights, and just a lot more amenities.”
Once the roads receive their facelift, Price
anticipates developers will initiate plans to
add a number of shops and restaurants
throughout the area.
“There are a number of developers we’re
talking to and we’ve seen some preliminary
conceptual plans, but we don’t have any
written agreements yet and there’s nothing
under construction,” he said. “We have one
developer that’s working on something and
he’s pretty far along.”
In looking ahead 10 years, Price said he
envisions downtown Newhall as an area with
quaint outdoor venues, a new 20,000-squarefoot Newhall Library, new parking structures,
retail shops and perhaps a movie theater.
“We’d have two parking structures in
place with retail development surrounding
those,” said Price. “One will be north of Market Street and one south of it. I think those
would be in place in 10 years.”
In addition to the two parking garages
between San Fernando Road and Railroad
Avenue, Price expects a civic center on Lyons
Avenue will also have been completed.
While the restripe project will serve as a
catalyst for redevelopment, Price said implementation of the North Newhall Specific
Plan might also attract more people to the
Newhall area and incite the interest of developers.
Moule & Polyzoides, the same firm hired
to come up with the Downtown Newhall
Specific Plan, drafted the North Newhall
plan, which targets 213 acres at the intersec-
tion of San Fernando Road and 13th Street.
“The two are definitely being planned in
tandem, and in paying attention to the fact
that the other is there,” Price said. “The North
Newhall Specific Plan has a lot of undeveloped property and there is a big chunk of
property that is owned by one developer.
“The key to really getting downtown
Newhall to start revitalizing more quickly is
to bring more people there,” he continued.
“So, if (the North Newhall Plan) goes
through and the council accepts it, the developer may right away start building a good
portion of it and that would bring a lot more
people in the area very close to Downtown
Newhall”
The William S. Hart Regional Park is one
site Price hopes to incorporate more fluidly
in the city’s vision of a revitalized Downtown Newhall.
The park, which features a western art
museum, barnyard animals and wild buffalo,
rests on land that once belonged to silent film
star William S. Hart. He donated his sprawling 260-acre ranch upon his death in 1945.
“Right now it has a big, tall chain-link
fence surrounding it and it gets separated
from the rest of Newhall,” Price said. “We
think a lot of people don’t even pay much
attention to the park because they drive by
and it’s not as welcoming with that big fence
there. So we’re hoping the interaction
between those two can be better as well.
“We have talked to several of the boards
that work with the park,” he added, “and
eventually we hope to tie Hart Park into
downtown Newhall more effectively.”
Who Needs a Crystal Ball When You Have a Good Plan?
A
t Newhall Land, we’ve actually
been thinking about your question
for a long time, and we have
concluded that as the Santa Clarita Valley
grows in the next 10 years it will become
greener, more robust and even more livable
than this great place we enjoy today!
How can we be so sure? If the past can
predict the future, we know that thoughtful
planning – which has been occurring here
for years now – is the predecessor to a
successful, thriving and sustainable
community.
We have that thoughtful planning in the
efforts between the city and the county in
regards to planning. Together and
individually, they look at all aspects of life
in the Santa Clarita Valley in a way we
never have before – from planning for
growth, to ensure jobs are part of new
communities; to protecting our natural
resources; to ensuring our circulation
system functions more efficiently.
This type of comprehensive planning
can ensure the valley’s renowned quality of
life improves continuously for both current
residents and the tens of thousands of new
residents projected to buy homes here
(many who will chose to stay and start
their own families) over the next decade.
We are greatly encouraged by the
commitment local government officials,
VP of
Communication,
Newhall Land
‘If the past can predict the future, we know that
thoughtful planning – which has been occurring
here for years now – is the predecessor to a
successful, thriving and sustainable community.’
developers, environmentalists and residents
have made to this vision.
At Newhall Land, we’re implementing
these concepts through four big ideas we
plan to implement by 2017 — none of
them bigger than the Newhall Ranch
Nature Preserve.
Within a decade, large sections of the
10-square-mile preserve, mostly made up
of the majestic hills west of I-5 across from
Valencia, will open for public enjoyment as
the villages of Newhall Ranch come to life.
The preserve represents one of the largest
open space dedications in the region’s
history and will be accessible through
miles of trails where a variety of wildlife –
including deer, coyotes and more – will be
spotted by those with a watchful eye.
Family fun for all!
Our second idea is to help more valley
residents work close to home. At build-out,
Newhall Land’s communities of Valencia
and Newhall Ranch will have resulted in
the creation of 100,000 local jobs. The
40,000 new jobs anticipated for Valencia
Gateway and Newhall Ranch will help us
reach this goal. Local jobs are good for our
economy, create shorter commute times
and, most importantly, help make mom and
dad happier when they get home.
Thirdly, by bringing quality new homes
to the final villages of Valencia and to
Newhall Ranch, we are planning for people
near existing jobs and infrastructure. These
communities and their homes are designed
around principles of sustainability, with the
latest energy and water efficiency features.
Many will be within walking distance to
jobs, schools and shops.
Easing traffic congestion is fourth on our
Marlee
Lauffer
list. Since efficient roadways are key to the
valley’s well-being, Newhall Land is
working closely with Caltrans, Los
Angeles County and the city of Santa
Clarita to find long-term solutions.
Already, Newhall Land has committed
nearly $300 million for local road
improvements to build new I-5 freeway
interchanges, add lanes to sections of SR126 and complete intersection
improvements in the region.
We are excited about our ideas and
about how the valley as a whole is planning
for the next 10 years. Combined, we’re
ensuring that our children will love living
here as much as we do.
Marlee Lauffer is Newhall Land’s senior
vice president of marketing and
communications.
28
One Hospital, Needing to Grow
Henry Mayo views
its 25-year master plan
as a key in meeting
the valley’s future
health care needs —
but will there be
another hospital in
the SCV’s future?
■
By Kristopher Daams
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
W
ith only one hospital in a
valley of about 250,000
people, it seems as if the
weight of the world would
be on its shoulders.
Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital
in Valencia may be something like that hospital. It’s the only one in the Santa Clarita
Valley and the area has about that same
number of people and it’s only going to rise.
Over the past several months, Henry
Mayo has gotten a couple steps closer to
getting its proposed master plan approved
by city officials.
But it’s been a contentious process.
Normally empty Santa Clarita Planning
Commission meetings became filled to the
brim in October and November with
Valencia residents who live close to the
hospital, fearful of the prospect of a larger
medical facility near their homes and the
impacts it would bring to local traffic and
to their property values.
Henry Mayo officials are seeking to get
their proposed 25-year master plan
approved, citing the fact that the hospital
has a lack of capacity to have medical
professionals practice at it. They also cite
the need to secure the space for specialty
medical services it currently does not provide, namely cardiac care and neo-natal
intensive care.
At build-out, the amount of hospital
space on the 30-acre site for Henry Mayo
would almost double in size. The hospital
currently has 332,992 square feet and is
seeking another 322,839 square feet of
developed space.
Medical office buildings would potentially increase by 200,000 square feet from
the current 97,081 square feet.
In all, Henry Mayo’s proposed plan
would increase the amount of developed
space from 336,138 to a total of about
840,000 square feet.
The Planning Commission approved the
RENEH AGHA/The Signal
Vern Pera of Canyon Country has a cardiolite stress test done at the treadmill room at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial
Hospital, under the supervision of cardiology Dr. Kenneth Tam (left) and Steve Evans, a nuclear medicine technician.
proposed plan on a split vote in February
and the leader of a group of local residents
opposing the plan has appealed that body’s
decision as a tool to retain legal rights it
may want to utilize in the future.
But were everything to go Henry
Mayo’s way, hospital CEO Roger Seaver
envisions construction to begin about a
year after the proposed master plan would
get approved.
The 10-year time frame was described
by Seaver as “a time period that this hospital will grow to be a comprehensive community hospital.”
The first phase of the three-phase master
plan would likely get completed by the end
of the next decade. That phase is composed of a medical office building of about
80,000 square feet and also a five-level,
750-stall parking structure of about
250,000 square feet.
That phase also has calls for the construction of an addition to the main hospital building that would be as tall as 85 feet
high with some elements as high as 100
feet.
Seaver said the hospital has 217 hospital
beds. Plans are in the works to convert its
second-story administrative office space
level to more medical space that could
accommodate 18 more beds.
That conversion, along with the controversial decision to convert the hospital’s
transitional care unit to hold just acute care
beds, will increase the number of hospital
beds to 245.
But that’s not counting the number of
beds that could be added along with the
construction of the first phase of the master plan. Seaver said there could be as
many as 120 more beds added to the hospital during phase one.
Perhaps the most controversial element
of Henry Mayo’s proposed plan is the
amount of medical office space.
About 200,000 more square feet of it is
being sought, and opponents of the master
plan allege that the hospital is prioritizing
medical office space rather than actual
hospital space.
Seaver said the high amount of medical
office space is necessary to recruit and
retain the physicians and medical professionals necessary to work at Henry Mayo.
Henry Mayo’s highest unmet needs are
in the fields of cardiac care and neo-natal
intensive care. Units are set to be on line
for both of those fields, Seaver said.
Whether another hospital opens up shop
in the Santa Clarita Valley is purely an
economic — not governmental — issue.
“That’s really much more of a private
hospital related issue,” said Paul Brotzman,
the city’s director for community development. “It’s much more of a marketplacedriven issue that the health care providers
have to look at as opposed to the city.”
He said the city’s role is more to identify areas of land and reserve the land use
opportunity for a hospital to be built “if the
economics were right. We can just plan for
accommodating a space somewhere if and
when it happens.
“Whether they will develop on those
locations will be driven by the private sector marketplace,” he said.
Over the next two to three decades, the
valley’s population is expected to swell to
about 400,000 to 500,000 people and
“that’s a bit large for one medical center,”
Brotzman said.
So the conditions could be ripe for
another hospital in that time period, given
the growth of the east side of the valley
and the fact that Henry Mayo is located on
the other side of town.
As Brotzman noted, the drive from a
neighborhood like Stonecrest in Canyon
Country to Henry Mayo can only get
longer.
“If you’re doing that in peak-hour traffic
you’ve got a half-hour drive with emergency
vehicles making that run,” Brotzman said.
30
From theater to the ballet to choral groups to the symphony, the Santa Clarita Valley’s future will
feature an ever-increasing dose of culture and a wide array of options for those who love...
The
Arts
By Annemarie Donkin
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
W
hat will the Santa Clarita Valley be like in 10 years?
Many can project more homes, shopping centers
and definitely, more traffic. But one thing is certain,
the state of the performing and visual arts is wonderful and looking to get even better.
The SCV is already home to California Institute of the Arts, a
performing arts training institution. Additionally, an increasingly
educated and sophisticated population is ready, willing and able
to support such diverse cultural offerings as a symphony orchestra, the Master Chorale, an international film festival, a repertory
theater, a community theater and children’s theater. There is a
semi-professional dance group and other visual and fine arts
organizations.
What we may see in a decade could be a new civic arts plaza, an
amphitheater, art galleries and museums. A revived Old Town
Newhall may rival any artsy village in the country with hip coffee
houses, art galleries, antique shops, live theater, jazz and a small
movie house.
What could make the arts community in the SCV even better
than it already is? Read on.
The City of Santa Clarita
A new civic arts performance space. A city amphitheater. A
museum and art galleries. More public events. Who said this community isn’t growing by leaps and bounds to create a thriving arts
culture?
Under the watchful eye of Phil Lantis, Santa Clarita art and
events director, the city’s calendar is full to bursting with events
— limited only by the number of weekends in the year. With his
team of coordinators, the Arts and Events office produces public
arts events including the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, the Mural
Project, the California Bear Project, Concerts in the Park and the
Street Art Festival.
“We are still glowing From the international success of the
recent Amgen Bike Tour that rolled through downtown Valencia,”
Lantis said. In the future, he hopes to bring more events into the
city. Additionally, Lantis and his staff anticipate the city will
become more involved in the supporting performing and fine arts
and the promotion of public arts events during the next decade.
“Currently, our total arts and events office budget is $1.3 million, but it is not all for arts, it is everything, administrative costs,
staff salaries, the annual marathon; it pays for everything,” Lantis
said. “In 10 years, it will increase to reflect the cost of living, perhaps to $2 to $2.5 million, based on current growth over the past
few years.”
Since 1993, Lantis said city-sponsored events have more than
doubled to tripled in event days, from 30 event days to nearly 150
event days in the next fiscal year.
The biggest change Lantis anticipates for the next decade will
See ARTS, page 51
The Santa Clarita Valley Ballet Company’s annual production of “The Nutcracker” is one of
the community’s most eagerly anticipated cultural offerings.
SCV Arts: COC Takes Center Stage
In 1970, when architects and planners
created the first educational and facility
plans for College of the Canyons, they
believed the fine and performing arts would
be hugely important and they planned the
college’s facilities and programs to support
arts education, training and cultural activities in a very big way.
Thirty-seven years later, says Sue Bozman, dean of district communication, marketing and external relations, the college
has become one of the main centers of cultural activity for the valley and the college’s
arts venues and programs promise to contribute to the valley’s growing, thriving arts
community in the future.
“We also hope to pursue grant opportunities so that the college and our community
arts organizations are supported with
increased funding for the arts in the future,”
she said.
The Art Gallery
“The College of the Canyons Art Gallery
has earned a reputation for bringing outstanding visual art exhibits to the community, such as a rare Goya exhibit, a display of
works by contemporary Cuban artists, and
cutting-edge shows in design and photography,” Bozman said. “The art gallery provides a program of five exhibitions a year.
While the exhibition schedule represents
diversity in culture and style, it also parallels the curriculum of the fine and applied
arts departments.”
She added that the gallery serves as an
instructional tool for all visual arts courses,
the college at large and the community. In
the future, Bozman said the gallery plans to
maintain an ongoing program of exhibitions. In addition, lectures, panel discussions, and question-and-answer sessions
will regularly accompany the exhibitions.
A scholarly catalogue will publish annually and be distributed to all higher educational institutions in California. Bozman
said each academic year will close with a
major student exhibition.
The Academic Programs
Visual arts
There are nine full-time faculty directing
five departments in fine and applied visual
arts, and a large number of adjunct faculty.
Faculty members regularly pursue professional careers in their fields in addition
to teaching. Bozman said the departments
include animation, fine arts, graphic and
multimedia design, photography, and radio,
television and film, with access to numerous computer and drawing labs and stateof-the-art 3D design labs.
“The passage of Measure M by the com-
Signal file photo
The Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons plays host to a variety of music and theater programs.
munity has provided funding so the current
media building can be expanded,” said
Floyd Moos, recently appointed dean of
fine and performing arts. “There is no need
to look very far into the crystal ball to see
the future, because designs are already
under way to build an addition to the current facility in 2008. With more space, each
of the departments will expand its instructional programs, enjoy increased collaboration, and be able to install new equipment
See COLLEGE, page 51
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34
Community College II
College of the Canyons
will soon open its
long-awaited second
campus on the eastern side
of the Santa Clarita Valley.
■
By Jesse Muñoz
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
I
n less than six months, College of the
Canyons officials will open the college’s
cross-valley sister campus — the
Canyon Country Education Center —
and in doing so will bring to completion the
initial phase of the college’s most significant
expansion project.
All but set to open in time for the fall 2007
semester, land grading on the 70-acre site —
on the east side of Sierra Highway between
Soledad Canyon and Sand Canyon — is
approximately 90 percent complete, with
portable buildings ready to be brought on site
as soon as structural footings can be dug and
the campus’ infrastructure design approved.
Coming at a price of approximately $30
million for property purchase and land developing costs, the Canyon Country Education
Center has been funded with Measure C
funds — the $82.1 million general obligation
bond that voters approved in November
2001.
Subsequent construction costs will come
from Measure M — the $160 million bond
voters approved last November.
But with the build-out on the projected
240,000-square-foot facility not slated to
come until 2015, how does the future — both
immediate and long term — look for the new
campus?
“It’s starting to roll,” said COC director of
facilities Jim Schrage about the last stages of
construction on what will serve as the education center’s interim campus.
“We’re just trying to get the site utility
work designed and approved by all the agencies. That’s actually the key to the project on
site,” Schrage said.
Because the campus will have to tie in to
the existing electric, water, phone, gas and
sewer lines, the college must receive utility
plan approval from both the county Department of Public Works and the city of Santa
Clarita.
Though that process could potentially take
several weeks, Schrage is confident that a
mid-April approval stamp would still allow
the college enough time to finalize its infrastructure needs in time for a fall 2007 opening.
“We’re really pushing to get these
approvals in the next six to seven weeks, and
if that happens we’ll be right on line,” he said.
“Putting up buildings is the easy part. What
you see above ground is only about 20 percent of what goes into the project.”
Above: Courtesy photo; Below: BRYAN KNEIDING/The Signal
College of the Canyons, present and future: Above, the current Valencia campus has undergone expansion and
serves a growing student population. Below, the new Canyon Country campus is under construction.
Set to open with 25 classrooms, five lab
spaces and additional space for administration and food service facilities connected by
five quad areas, the new campus will serve
approximately 3,000 students in the first
semester.
Built on a three-level plateau, in what
could be described as a “step design,” the
campus will house the portable units on the
site’s most elevated level, with a 25-foot slope
to the site’s next level — where the construction of permanent buildings will take place. A
bottom level will house a main campus
entrance and plaza area, with adjacent buildings on both sides which will eventually contain a number of student services facilities
and offices.
Access to the campus will come off of
Sierra Highway and continue on yet-to-bebuilt roadways branching off to the facility’s
various levels.
With plans to continue subsequent permanent construction in two-year cycles — as the
college receives state-matched funding for
such projects — the campus will eventually
be home to six, 40,000-square-foot, twostory buildings. Design drawings for the first
building are set to begin in 2008.
“The first time we are eligible to be funded
to submit designs will be July 1, 2008, so
that’s when we should get funding for our
first set of working drawings, which will then
take about a year,” said COC SuperintendentPresident Dianne Van Hook during a recent
board of trustees meeting.
“There will be two years probably where
there’s no construction and then we’ll start
again,” Schrage said about the college’s
future plans for the site. “The state bonds are
on a two-year cycle, so then our second build-
ing would start design in 2010, our third
building would start design in 2012 and that’s
all the buildings we have in our bond for the
campus,” Schrage said.
However, because of that construction
time frame moving forward, portable classrooms will be the norm at the new campus for
at least the foreseeable future.
See COC, page 35
COC
“I think the portables will probably be there until at least 2012,
because you always need swing
space, and that’s what it will be
used as. But we have no intentions
of keeping the portables,” Schrage
said.
Within both the interim and permanent campus’ landscaping
designs, COC officials have implemented a number of open space
grass quad and natural areas for students to enjoy.
“Permanently there will be green
space between every major building through a courtyard area ... and
between every quad of modular
buildings the same will be true,”
Van Hook said.
“We’re going to create a lot of
comfortable space for the students,”
said Schrage about the college’s
plans to begin landscaping and
planting now as a precursor to the
permanent construction. “We’ll
plant grass in the main area below
the modulars so (the students) can
go straight down the stairway and
have a nice area to hang out in ...
There’s going to be plenty of shade
and plenty of green.”
In keeping with the historical
The new College of the Canyons east campus will serve approximately 3,000 students
when it opens on 70 acres along Sierra Highway.
look and feel of the Canyon Country area, the new campus will
include stone arches, split rail
fences and natural stone-faced
building surfaces and signage infor-
mation — using rocks removed
from the property during the land
grading process.
Though the campus will maintain a balance of general education,
transfer, career education and community service courses, the new
campus will not offer an exact
duplication of courses offered at the
Valencia campus. However college
officials do intend to have academic
programs that are completely
housed at the site, just as the Valencia campus will have classes and
programs unique to that site.
With land grading on the site
having begun in July 2006, the
opening of the new campus in
August will mark the end of an
approximately one-year period
which saw the 70-acre hillside site
transformed into an operable interim campus.
“It usually takes 18 months to
two years to design a property, and
we did it in four and a half months,”
said Schrage about the accelerated
timeline the college administration
has been working on to get the site
up and running. “Dianne (Van
Hook’s) energy and enthusiasm for
this project is just infectious.”
Although the major portion of
construction on the new campus
should be done by 2012, additional
building and expansion projects
could continue well past the tentatively projected 2015 build-out
date.
“We’re going to keep building
just like we did on the (Valencia
campus),” Schrage said. “It took a
long time but as the growth happens
and as you’re eligible, the state will
fund the building, and we’ll just
keep building.”
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I Should Be Mayor in 2017...
Grades 4-6
2007 Progress Essay Contest
First Place
Benjamin Deuson
Grade 6, Helmers Elementary
Thank you all for coming today to Hart
Park for my campaign speech. As a child I
have watched our city grow and prosper
here in the rich soil of Santa Clarita Valley.
From this soil grew our city, a flower of
beauty and magnificence that could not be
alive today without the kind nurturing and
care of our fine communities and
outstanding government. However, there
are some rocks and weeds in the soil that
need to be properly addressed, such as the
ongoing need for water that our flower
constantly has to fight for. This fight can be
easily ended by negotiating the water fairly
among us and trading our plentiful
resources in exchange for even more water
for us to use. Another rock we’ve stumbled
upon lately is the need for more housing
space in which there is a simple solution: to
inhabit nearby areas out of the city limits. If
these areas can be inhabited soon bridges
and highways will be built between the
separate part of the city, not only making
our city expand, but providing miles of
construction space there and in between! So
vote Deuson for mayor!
Second Place
Brooke Licon
Grade 5, Cedarcreek Elementary
When I was driving home one day, a
paper bag got stuck on my windshield and I
almost got in an accident! Then when I got
home I saw graffiti all over my
neighborhood fence and I wanted to do
something about it. Now, as you people are
looking around, you see that there’s trash
everywhere! Don’t you want your city to be
nice and clean? In the past 10 years, all of
the trash and graffiti in our city is building
up, and I have a way to prevent it from
getting worse.
I hate seeing trash everywhere in my city,
Local students were invited to submit essays on this topic: “Picture yourself in the year 2017 as a candidate for mayor. How has the Santa Clarita Valley changed since 2007, and what would you say in
your campaign speech to convince voters they should elect you?” Hundreds of entries were received.
First-place winners in each age group will receive $100 cash. Second prize in each group is $50, and third prize is $25.
Judging was done by The Signal. The writers of all winning essays — including the honorable mention winners published in
this edition — will be recognized during a special award presentation at The Signal’s offices in the next few weeks.
Level I (Grades 4-6)
First: Benjamin Deuson
Second: Brooke Licon
Third: Matthew Voltz
so I’m going to do something about it. If
you vote for me, I’ll hire a full-time crew
that goes around the city to clean up all of
the trash. Also, there will be a hotline for
people to call us and tell where the trash is,
so we can go over and clean it up. Oh, and
I’ll do the exact same thing for graffiti.
Help me help you clean up this city! Vote
Brooke Licon for your new mayor!
Third Place
Matthew Voltz
Grade 4, Mountainview Elementary
Look around you, citizens. It is the year
2017, and our Santa Clarita Valley has
become polluted. Its rich history has been
forgotten, and famous landmarks have been
destroyed so new factories and oil
companies could be built. In 10 years, only
one decade, we have let buildings and
factories corrupt this valley’s beauty and
special history.
All of this can change, if you do one
small favor. Vote for Matthew Voltz as
mayor of Santa Clarita. I will help make the
community a better and safer place for all
of us. I will tear down the oil factories that
are polluting our air and water. I will find a
way to make cars run on solar energy. I will
bring back the beauty that once covered this
Honorable Mention Winners
Grades 4-6
(essays start on page 38)
Kyle Diamant
Jamie Meyer
T.J. Ward
Laurel Kratz
Megan Bleiler
Ruth McCrary
John Murillo
Jennifer Be
Alex Lau
Kelsey Brixon
Brian Hicks
Tania Murillo
Parker Paisley
Dustin Frezieres
Grades 7-9
Julie Gabler
Danielle Bozarth
Alyssa Liddle
Hannah Smith
Gracie Bauer
Paige Forbes
Sabrina Sweet
Michael Barker
Grades 10-12
Mitch Weber
Caitlyn Dortch
Evan Kono
Michelle Macalintal
Melanie Yamabe
Amanda Guthrie
Jeremy Kruger
Maddy Simpson
Level II (Grades 7-9)
First: Joshua David
Second: Samantha Spiegel
Third: Mackenzie Crawford
gorgeous valley. Parks and places to play
will be built once more, and historical
landmarks will be restored! This smogcovered valley will be vibrant with nature
again — only if you vote for me, Matthew
Voltz.
A lot has changed over the past decade,
and more can still be changed. We can
make our city cleaner. We can make our
city safer. We make this city a better place
if you vote for me, Matthew Voltz. I will
“shock you” with what I will do with this
valley.
Grades 7-9
First Place
Joshua David
Grade 8, La Mesa Jr. High School
From 2007 until now in 2017, Santa
Clarita has witnessed great changes. All
around us, land-hungry developers devour
the wildlands of neighboring cities. We
would be able to travel faster than ever if
traffic were not so bad. I think that these
problems are solvable with a bit of thought
and effort.
Santa Clarita is one of the last places in
the Los Angeles area that has any wildlands
left. Although we managed to kick out
Cemex, irresponsible developers want to
build on precious wildlands. If they
succeed, then we will never again hear the
triumphant call of the red-tailed hawk or the
lonely baying of the coyotes. We need to
keep our land in responsible hands.
Traffic is also an ever-increasing
problem. Los Angeles traffic now extends
to the Grapevine. We need a solution other
than building more freeways. I suggest that
we make movable barriers instead of solid
barriers dividing our freeways to make
more lanes for rush-hour traffic. This could
have been done for a long time.
Santa Clarita can become a much better
place if we set our minds to making it so. If
we set these plans to work, we can make it
happen.
Level III (Grades 10-12)
First: Nicholas Marshall
Second: April Stahl
Third: Jacqueline Kikuchi
Second Place
Samantha Spiegel
Grade 7, Placerita Jr. High School
Hmm... I wonder what it would be like in
Santa Clarita 10 years from now. Flying
cars? I don’t think so, but I’m sure a major
issue of our valley would be overpopulation.
If you vote for me to be mayor, I could solve
this problem.
Think of all the traffic issues we have now
in our area. Now double that and all that
traffic is what it would be like in 2017. I feel
the need to make more roads and
transportation in our valley. With wider
roads, more transportation can fit, which
would make it a little easier to get to your
day-to-day activities.
Also, more transportation vehicles such as
buses and trains would be available if you
voted for me. This would lessen the usage of
cars, which might lower the gas prices. With
so many vehicles, it is more likely to get into
car accidents, too, so this would save
people’s lives. Cutting back on cars also
saves our environment, which is important
because if we continue eating away at the
ozone, it may die and it would only go
downhill from there. So, are you going to put
Santa Clarita into my hands for the better?
Third Place
Mackenzie Crawford
I am Mackenzie Crawford, and I am a
candidate for mayor of Santa Clarita. There
have been many changes to the city in the
past 10 years. For example, since the city
became a California Enterprise Zone,
business has gone up. Unemployment has
gone down, and household income has
increased. Traffic congestion has been eased
with the completion of the cross valley
connector, as well as additional road
improvements and traffic control measures.
Also, the dispute about the Soledad mining
project has been resolved with favorable
results for the city.
See WINNERS, page 38
38
Building a Foundation for New School Development
W
ith a high degree of certainty, it’s
possible to forecast tomorrow’s
weather based on today’s
observations. On the other hand, trying to
predict the weather 10 years from now is
far more difficult. The likelihood of an
accurate forecast diminishes as information
on future conditions becomes sketchy, not
to mention the unknown variables that
might develop.
Now try forecasting new schools – when
they will be needed and where they should
be built. Not much different than
forecasting the weather. It depends on the
reliability of known patterns and
information currently available.
In terms of student needs, school districts
must decide whether existing classrooms
will meet future demand and, if not, when
new schools will be needed and where they
should be located. It’s that simple. And then
again it isn’t, since land is scarce and
difficult to come by.
In recent years, school property in the
William S. Hart Union High School District
has been acquired in two different ways:
developer-provided sites and those sites
purchased and developed by the Santa
Clarita Valley Facilities Foundation for the
benefit of the district.
Winners
Santa Clarita is celebrating its 30th
anniversary as a city! I would like to help the
city improve even more in the next few
years. I plan to be a fair and just mayor. I
would continue to work hard for the good of
the city. I believe that we have already made
some big changes. I also believe that there
are some more changes to make. Ensuring
the safety and well-being of our residents is
of the utmost importance to me, and my goal
is to keep this city a safe, fun place to live.
That is why I would be your best choice for
the mayor of Santa Clarita.
Grades 10-12
Richard
Patterson
President, SCV
Facilities
Foundation
In a perfect world, tying land for a school
site to a new home development project
works just fine. In reality, delays in housing
tract approvals, housing market slumps, a
general economic downturn, natural
disaster, or any number of other variables
can stall or derail a project.
Purchasing land to build a school
independent of any new home development
can work even better. Makes sense,
actually. Not only do independent land
purchases protect the school district from
unexpected fluctuations in the housing
market, but they also serve as a hedge
against inflation.
The Santa Clarita Valley Facilities
Foundation was established in 1998 to
focus on acquiring land and finding a way
in the district, where minorities have become
majorities, and the poor share their fellow
Santa Claritans’ same education and health
resources. Land development has stretched
its tentacles deeply along the super-freeway
126, into the orange groves, and drove its
tractors into the rolling hills along the
Grapevine pass. Every day, the city slowly
grows to parallel the streets of downtown
Los Angeles, as the skyscrapers of Valencia
Boulevard tower over the ant-like street life
that scurries along on its business. As a
candidate in 2017, my greatest desire and
honor is to lead an exodus from the harsh,
unfriendly lifestyle of a modern metropolis
city to the standard of living in our previous
decade. My administration would continue
the progress made in racial equality, and
strive to support the issue in every way. I will
be the people’s servant and their will for
Santa Clarita will be my only prerogative.
First Place
Nicholas Marshall
Grade 11, Hart High School
Glenda Cloud once said that “change is
inevitable, growth is intentional.” The
process of change and development in
relation to the hustle of modern-day
American suburbia has exponentially
increased, in the past decade, in the wave of
new building technologies and business
practices. In the passing years since 2007,
the face of Santa Clarita has been changed to
such an extent that its current patterns and
social codes seem to have no correlation
with the past. The current state of affairs
involve the racial integration of every section
Second Place
April Stahl
Grade 11, Saugus High School
As a contender for the position of mayor
of the Santa Clarita Valley in the year 2017, I
would strive to make this city a more
beautiful, productive place e and improve the
lives of each resident, no matter their age,
gender, race or background. Firstly, in order
to supply teenagers and others seeking
employment with jobs, I would create a
Civilian Conservation Corps much like the
one created under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
New Deal. This would keep our city clean
while also providing jobs for those out of
to build a much-needed high school at a
time when school overcrowding reached
crisis proportions. The Hart District
Governing Board developed a concept for a
public-private partnership that could get a
school project off the ground, move it along
quickly, while minimizing costs and
maximizing state funding.
In 2004, the Facilities Foundation joined
the Hart District in celebrating the opening
of Golden Valley High School, which
helped reduce overcrowding in other area
schools. In partnership with the city of
Santa Clarita the foundation built an
extension of Golden Valley Road, a key
segment of the cross-valley connector, prior
to school construction.
With the success of the Golden Valley
project, the Facilities Foundation laid the
groundwork for the cost-effective
development of other school projects. For
eight years now, the organization has been
dedicated to locating, acquiring and
developing sites for new schools in the Hart
District, along with the necessary
infrastructure.
Each project begins with a request from
the Hart District based upon the district’s
projected growth and long-term strategic
planning goals. Acquisition and
development of school sites in this manner
enables the school district to meet student
population needs on the district’s timetable,
independent of new home developments.
The Facilities Foundation recently
acquired two prospective school properties
in Canyon Country. These purchases, in
combination with the sale of land adjacent
to Golden Valley, have strengthened the
capabilities and land holdings of the
foundation in the current year, securing its
work into the future.
The Facilities Foundation doesn’t
construct school buildings, but it does pave
the way for the Hart District to build schools,
supporting the district’s long-term strategic
plan. With hope on the horizon and as
beneficiary of all foundation assets, the Hart
District and community can look forward to
new schools opening during the next decade.
The Facilities Foundation is proud of its role
in offering viable planning options for the
Hart District as it moves forward to provide
the best facilities for our students.
An annual report to the community is
available online at www.scv-ff.org or by
calling (661) 753-5759.
work. In addition to this, I would create new
bus routes and more frequent and opportune
stops. I believe that this would make travel
more convenient and affordable for all age
groups, due to the escalating price of fuel.
Most importantly, as mayor of the Santa
Clarita Valley, I would strive to educate our
future generation in the subject of politics.
There is nothing more vital than our
upcoming mayors, congressmen, and even
presidents of the United States learning the
importance of government affairs at a young
age. As potential mayor of Santa Clarita in
the year 2017, I predict a brighter future for
all of us.
mayor, I would construct more schools, so
our children can have better access to
education.
Every parent agrees that the safety of their
children is the primary concern. Thus, I
would make our community a safer place for
our children by enforcing stricter laws for
sex offenders in Santa Clarita. It is crucial to
make sure no harm is inflicted upon our
precious children.
It would be an honor to be mayor of
Santa Clarita. I have lived here for 27
years, and I know that I can make our city
a better place to live. I would dedicate
myself to the safety and future of our
children because every child deserves a
happy and safe childhood.
Richard A. Patterson is president of the
Santa Clarita Valley Facilities Foundation.
Third Place
Jacqueline Kikuchi
Grade 12, Canyon High School
There have been many changes in Santa
Clarita in the past 10 years. Since 2007, our
diverse population has more than doubled;
furthermore, we have several new
communities. I would like to be mayor, so I
can make a better environment for our
children through safety and education.
I was born and raised in Santa Clarita, and
I have seen our city grow throughout the
years. Now, in 2017, Santa Clarita is
celebrating 30 years of cityhood. As mayor, I
can help Santa Clarita continue its prosperity
for many more years to come.
The increase in population is wonderful
for our city; however, it does have
drawbacks. The schools are overpopulated,
and this causes difficult learning
environment for children. If I was elected
Honorable Mention
Grades 4-6
Kyle Diamant
Hi, my name is Kyle Diamant. I want
you to vote for me as mayor of Santa
Clarita in 2017. Lots of things have
changed in the last 10 years. Some
things were good changes and some not
so good.
We’ve seen tremendous growth. There
are now 400,000 people living in our
valley. There are more houses and less
open space. Schools are more crowded.
Congestion is a problem, particularly by
the mall.
See ESSAYS, page 40
The College’s Future Is Geared Toward Your Future
C
ollege of the Canyons has been a
story of success since its beginnings
more than 37 years ago. The
community at that time recognized the need
for a quality community college that would
provide education and training in the arts,
technology and academic areas. With that in
mind, faculty members were hired, facilities
were built, programs were developed,
students achieved their goals and the
foundation for the college’s legacy of
outstanding performance was laid.
From the very beginning, the college and
the community knew they would both grow
— a symbiotic relationship that required
matching steps forward. Projections for the
future are that community growth will
continue along with requirements for the
college to serve a wider range of purposes.
Current realities are that the student
population surpassed the 18,000 mark in
2006, five years earlier than population
projections predicted. This unprecedented
growth resulted in community support for a
$82.1 million general obligation bond
measure (Measure C) being passed in 2001
and another $160 million measure (Measure
M) receiving overwhelming support from
local voters in 2006. Funds from these bonds
have been matched by millions of dollars in
state resources. Together they will be used
for capital improvements within the Santa
Dianne
Van Hook
Superintendent,
COC
Clarita Community College District, which
includes the College of the Canyons
Valencia campus and, now, thanks to these
bonds, its new Canyon Country campus.
The aim is simply to have enough
classrooms, labs and other facilities to meet
the educational needs of Santa Clarita Valley
communities, now and in the future to
provide exciting places for students to learn
and pursue their dreams.
Many of COC’s students will already
have advanced degrees. Others will attend
classes to learn, for the first time, about
technology that will enhance their careers
and their lives! Others will decide that “now
is the time, and this is the college” to get
serious about a college education. Still others
will enroll because they want and need the
quality teaching, the extra care that COC
instructors and staff provide, and the chance
TAKING CARE OF YOUR VOLVO
26951 Ruethur Ave., Unit J, Santa Clarita, CA 91351
TEL: (661) 298-2784 • www.valenciavolvo.com
to prove themselves.
We’ll see more high school students
interested in getting a “jump start” on their
college educations by taking advantage of
enrollment fee waivers or signing up for the
on-campus Middle College, Academy of the
Canyons, or the Early College High School
at the Canyon Country Campus. Already
more than 1,200 do so each semester. We’ll
find more students who realize that the cost
of a bachelor’s degree can be significantly
reduced by completing the first two years at
a community college. The reasons to attend
College of the Canyons will be as varied as
the students themselves which range across a
huge spectrum of educational interests and
cultural backgrounds.
With more companies locating in the area,
the college will welcome them and ask,
“What we can do to help?” Through the
Employee Training Institute and the Center
for Applied Competitive Technologies, the
college has provided indispensable
workforce development and technical
assistance to manufacturers in the region.
The recent additions of the Small Business
Development Center and High Technology
Business Incubator have already had a huge
impact locally by helping existing businesses
and providing assistance to entrepreneurs
who wish to start new businesses locally.
When new technologies are developed,
the college will master them and offer
training to whoever needs those skills. In
addition to programs such as computer
networking; graphics and multi-media
design and computer information
technology; the college has added a
biotechnology program and is working on
providing training in nanotechnology fields.
Other programs recently added due to public
demand include automotive technology, land
surveying, construction technology,
paralegal studies, culinary arts, and security
technologies. Community members are
signing up to attend these classes as fast and
as often as we can offer them. That trend is
unlikely to change in the future.
Each day we are planning to
accommodate the needs and wants of current
and future students. As we build out the
Valencia campus and expand the new
Canyon Country campus, we are constantly
verifying the focus on our mission.
Preparation for the future means planning
and acting today.
Soon-to-be-completed major expansions
in Valencia include a new science lab
building and lecture halls, a brand new high
technology classroom building and a major
expansion to our physical education facility
– including a complex of six tennis courts.
Construction at the Canyon Country campus
See VAN HOOK, page 40
40
Change Is Tough, but We’ll Be Better for It
T
en years from now I expect things
will have gotten a little worse – and
then a little better. Because of our
tendency to “keep doin’ what we’re doin’”
the community may experience some
growing pains.
We all still love to drive our cars and we
all want the American Dream – the
proverbial house with a picket fence. Good
schools, a short commute, low bills, high
pay, lots of clean air and trees, great stores
and restaurants – just like everyone, we
want it all. With the great California
weather, who wouldn’t want to live here?
We’re going to keep growing. But to keep it
dreamy, we’ll need the vision to change a
bit.
What if we got more frequent trains and
better parking at train stations, so more
people used Metrolink? With more bike
lanes and bike trails, your kids could ride
their bikes safely to school. More carpool
lanes on the freeway would add incentive
for those who chose to rideshare. Right now
these things aren’t there, so we just put up
with the traffic and the stress that gets just a
little bit worse every year.
Our water agencies do a great job
delivering water, and even in dry years like
Essays
We’ve also seen the addition of an
Apple store, Nordstroms, more movie
theaters and a California Pizza Kitchen
(my mom’s favorite restaurant). Our
outstanding Parks and Recreation
Department has added more basketball
courts, baseball fields and public pools.
I am qualified to be your mayor. I
graduated from Harvard at the top of
class in just three years. I was the
youngest Olympic champion to win a
gold medal in downhill skiing. I have
been involved in the Big Brother
program for three years.
I’m going to work with the city to
create more parks for kids, better animal
shelters and more help for senior
citizens. I will ask the community for
their input as to what they want built.
Please vote for a better tomorrow. Vote
for Kyle Diamant.
Van Hook
is geared toward a fall 2007
opening with more than 3,000
students. With a groundbreaking
last week, the long-awaited
University Center – a facility
where four-year universities will
offer bachelor’s, master’s and
doctoral degrees on the COC
Maria
Gutzeit
Board Member,
Newhall County
Water District
we’ve had now, we can just keep using as
much as we want. As population grows,
without improvements in water storage and
water transmission from Northern
California, droughts will ultimately mean
those pansies and green lawns won’t make it
through the summer. Politicians and voters
have yet to agree we need infrastructure
fixes. Though we should already be
choosing outdoor landscaping wisely, if
only to save ourselves money, a lot of us
can’t resist buying those pretty water-thirsty
plants. It seems so much easier, right now, to
avoid any changes and just keep hoping a
prolonged drought doesn’t happen.
Will we see the proverbial “house with
the picket fence” in tracts from here up to
Jamie Meyer
Grade 4
In 2017 I think Santa Clarita will be
extremely polluted. If I ran for mayor
that year I would do something about all
the littering. In my campaign speech I
would say… “Hello, first I’m thrilled to
get a chance to be active in this
community. If you elect me as your
mayor I promise to do something about
the pollution in Santa Clarita. I realize
that this can become very harmful to us.
It is hurting our environment and the
animals that live in it. Think before you
throw that candy wrapping on the
ground, you are endangering your
environment. As your mayor, I will start
an organization, “Save Our
Environment!” Save Our Environment
will go around town and clean up the
community. There will also be The
Litter Police, who will be on the lookout
for people who are littering. Santa
Clarita means so much to me and I will
take part in this organization. Don’t just
stand there when you could be helping
campus – will begin construction
and expand access for those who
wish to pursue their dream of a
bachelor’s or graduate degree, or a
teaching credential.
On the drawing board are:
• Expansion of the library –
Valencia campus.
• Expansion of the Media and Fine
Arts Building – Valencia campus.
• New student services and
administration building – Valencia
campus.
Bakersfield, and spreading eastward to Las
Vegas? Probably some day. What if buyers
decide driving two hours each way to work
doesn’t make sense? That would make the
idea of infill housing, such as townhouses
along greenbelts, close to work and
shopping, more popular. Perhaps if
incentives like breaks in permitting fees or
expedited approvals are offered, we’ll see
more affordable housing built for seniors or
police officers and firefighters.
One of my first impressions exploring
California was how cool the rest stops were
along the freeways. On my first trip to
Mammoth, we stopped at the rest area off
the 395, bought a bag of pistachios from a
vendor, and sat down on that beautiful
sunny day for a snack at the picnic tables.
I’m betting nearly everyone has stopped to
stretch their legs at these public havens in
Goleta, San Diego, and the Eastern Sierras.
We have facilities built and maintained just
because someone, way back when,
convinced the powers that be to do
something good for travelers around our
state.
Look at the tremendous foresight that
went into things such as our freeway
system, our aqueducts, or even national
parks. None of these things were easy. No
doubt the value of each and every one of
them was questioned at the time. “Why
should we make this change?” the protesters
no doubt said.
Many people probably loudly announced,
“Well, I’ll never drive on the freeway,” or,
“I’ll never go to that park,” or, “We have
better uses for the money.” But changes
were made. The prices were paid. And
generally we are all the better for it.
I hope, as Santa Clarita, the country, and
the world all continue to grow that we don’t
forget the capacity to change. We may not
like it – I don’t even like it – but 10 years
from now will indeed be different. We will
have grumbling and muttering, pennies to
pinch and habits to change. Here’s hoping
we also have a good dose of planning ahead,
grand visions and willingness to try new
things.
When change occurs, I hope it is
something that, on some fine sunny
Southern California day in the future, we
can sit back, ponder, and be proud of.
Santa Clarita. You can easily be part of
this organization. Santa Clarita needs
you; please help. If you want our
community to be safe and healthy,
please vote for me. Thank you.”
graffiti that people do. On street corners,
on private property, on streetlights; it is
everywhere.
I think we should build up the graffiti
hotline so maybe more people would get
caught and then more people would
stop.
If I were mayor of Santa Clarita I
would support the building of new
hospitals and homeless shelters. I would
also increase the manpower on the
graffiti hotline. In order to also make the
city safer and decrease the graffiti
activity, I would hire more sheriffs. That
is why you should vote for me for mayor
of Santa Clarita.
T.J. Ward
Grade 6, Skyblue Mesa Elementary
Don’t you wish there were some
changes in this city? Well, I agree that
there is much to do. In fact, I think this
city needs to make many improvements.
One big area where this town needs
improvements is in the area of hospitals.
We only have one good hospital in the
area. I think we should build two or
three more hospitals.
Another thing we need is better
provisions for the homeless. Have you
ever seen how many people have no
homes and are living on the streets? If
you did not have a home, wouldn’t you
at least want a homeless shelter or
somewhere you could go to get
assistance?
Another problem we have is all the
• Six, 40,000-square-foot
classroom buildings – Canyon
Country campus.
• Retrofitting of vacated spaces in
existing buildings for more
classrooms – Valencia campus.
• And more!
Of course, all of this expansion
means more opportunities to
provide the training and classes
that the community tells us it
wants. I know — all of us at COC
know — that what we provide the
Maria Gutzeit is a Newhall resident. She
serves as vice president of the Newhall
County Water District.
Laurel Kratz
My fellow citizens, please spare me
the time to tell you why I should be
mayor. First off, don’t you think it’s a
little crowded around here due to new
housing? Well, with me as mayor it will
STOP. I will STOP overly crammed
community is priceless. We are
providing our future leaders with
the very best tools to be successful
and we are providing them with a
solid example of how to succeed.
As Anatole France said, “To
accomplish great things, we must
not only act, but also dream; not
only plan, but also believe.”
So, what will College of the
Canyons’ future look like? It will
be a higher education resource
built on the best of the past and the
See CONTEST, page 41
promise of the future — where
students of every description will
learn the skills to chart individual
courses to achieve their goals.
The real question, however, is
what will your future look like?
We can help you find the answers
and help make sure it is a bright
one indeed.
Dianne Van Hook is
superintendent-president of
College of the Canyons.
Needed: Elected Mayor, Reformed County, World Outlook
M
any readers are aware that, since
my retirement from the City
Council in 1998, I have put most of
my energy into such things as medical care
and education for children from the third
world, and trying to help develop a world
outlook for the people of Santa Clarita.
However, we need to do more, and one
step in the right direction is to elect our
own mayor. Those who think an elected
mayor is not important have no clue why
we need one. It is not about government in
Santa Clarita, but about our representation
to the peoples and governments outside of
our city.
We need a continuing, recognizable
presence at the county of Los Angeles, and
the state of California as well as in
Washington, D.C. We need the
representatives to the League of California
Cities, the California Contract Cities
Association and the Local Government
Commission to be able to connect the face
of a leader with the people of Santa Clarita.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not looking
for the job. I volunteered recently for
Contest
neighborhoods because I understand we
need breathing room.
Secondly, I would like to talk about
how low income is. I will encourage
higher income for our hard-working
teachers, doctors, nurses, police, etc. All
these wonderful people deserve MORE.
I thought pay was low in 2007!
Also, what about... TAXES! (Excuse
me, but where is the horror music?!)
Everyone hates taxes. With me as mayor,
they WILL go down. In 2007 we thought
it was pricey. Now, in 2017, it costs
MORE! Where does it even go? Well,
the answer is simply too big,
overweight, already extremely wealthy
guys who just sit around using it for no
good reason. So, with me as mayor, not
only will taxes go down, but it will be
used for better causes. Now, bearing this
in mind, who do YOU want as mayor?
Megan Bleiler
Grade 5, Cedarcreek School
Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! I am
Megan Bleiler. Imagine a time where
there is no gangs, no drugs, and more
schools and teachers. Well, I can make
that happen for you if you vote for me. I
promise I will hire police officers to
make sure we feel safe in our
neighborhood.
Don’t you just hate it when you see
graffiti all over the walls? I will make it
so that instead of paying a traffic ticket,
or if your child is going to detention, the
person has another choice by cleaning
graffiti off the walls for one day.
Are you sick and tired of seeing a
Carl Boyer
Former Mayor
appointment to the City Council out of a
sense of duty, not because I was looking
for work. The only political office to which
I could aspire is that of a supervisor of
Canyon County.
An elected mayor could only be an asset
in the quest for reform of Los Angeles
County, the largest county in the world
with a population larger than two-thirds of
the nations of the world.
We need someone who will represent
the people of our city, and of our valley,
so that the rape of our valley can be
stopped. Look around you. Look at the
bunch of teenagers huddled up, smoking
cigarettes and maybe even drugs? Well, I
am! I will give them one chance of
going to free rehab to change their drug
habits.
Are you teachers tired of being
overworked, and underpaid? Well, my
goal is to build more schools and hire
more teachers. Worried about
overcrowding? All classes will have only
15 students.
Remember, if you vote for Megan
there will always be a little more joy in
the city. So, make the right choice and
vote Megan for mayor.
Ruth McCrary
Have you ever wondered what Santa
Clarita will look like in 10 years? Well,
there are some good things that could
happen and there are some bad things.
For example, in 10 years there will most
likely be more homes in Santa Clarita,
which is a good things since the
population is growing. But littering and
pollution could continue to be a problem
because of the greater number of people!
If we are going to increase the number
of people, we need stricter laws
enforcing littering and polluting.
If you elect me as mayor, I will do my
best to make all the good things that are
needed to make Santa Clarita an even
better place to live. I will also support
building more affordable homes in Santa
Clarita so not as many people will be
homeless. And, while there will be more
homes in Santa Clarita, I will still leave
some areas for parks and hiking spaces.
This can all be accomplished by careful
planning and commitment.
There are lots of other reasons why I
would make a good mayor. For example,
building going on. It is not in the city, but
in the county.
We count for nothing in Los Angeles
County, but we could count for a lot among
the 88 cities, who could use their collective
power to split the present county into
manageable units. There has been no
county reform in one hundred years.
Think about that. One hundred years ago
the lifestyle of the average person was
closer to that of an ancient Roman than to
that we enjoy today. We have developed
mass communications, aviation and sent
men to the moon, but have not made a real
effort to update our county government.
In a column on recent travels I
mentioned brief visits to such countries as
St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada. I
mentioned in passing that they each had
fewer people than our city. I did not
describe their pride at being members of
the sovereign nations of the world.
I do not advocate nationhood for Santa
Clarita, but I firmly believe we must be
able to govern our valley ourselves
through the formation of the local county
for which we have voted twice already, in
1976 and 1978.
Now let me turn to developing a world
outlook. It is happening in our valley. The
growth in the programs of the Santa Clarita
Valley International Program is amazing. It
must continue, for a community which
does not engage the world in an active,
positive way will not be able to prosper.
The biggest problem the board of the
International Program faces is making a
quorum at its meetings. We board members
travel too much, to our sister cities in
Ecuador and the Philippines, as well as to
Nicaragua, China, Spain and India, where
we are developing activities.
You can get involved. We need fresh
faces. Call me at 259-3154. You can play a
vital part in improving our city, our valley
and our world.
I am good at making decisions. I am also
a good helper, and can handle the extra
work. I also have lots of new and
creative ideas for the valley.
I would be a good mayor for Santa
Clarita because I will support building
more affordable homes, parks, and work
to solve as many problems as I can. The
problems I can not solve I will do my
Carl Boyer was chairman of the
committee that put the formation of the city
of Santa Clarita on the ballot in 1987, and
served as a mayor and council member
during the ensuing 10 years.
See SPEECHES, page 42
The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce and its 1,720 business members
continue to be proud of its role in providing leadership, advocacy and member
services to the greater business community of the Santa Clarita Valley. Since the
inception of Santa Clarita's largest business association on Feb. 21, 1923, the
Chamber has been one of the leading organizations for the creation of high quality
residential and commercial growth in the valley.
The chamber looks forward to its ongoing role of providing business leadership to
the Santa Clarita Valley.
28460 Ave. Stanford, #100, Santa Clarita CA 91355
661-702-6977 www.scvchamber.com
42
Checking the Hospital’s Barometer of Good Service
M
y colleagues in the for-profit
sector are held to ruthless
standards every quarter, and I
admit that I share the same teeth-clenching
determination to serve our “stockholders”
well – except in our case the “stockholders”
are the community and its caregivers.
We have no stock price to check for
Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial
Hospital, but we have other indicators
(some more useful than others) to help us
monitor our progress. There’s one in
particular that I check frequently. Every
day, twice a day, I walk through the ER
to see how we are doing.
What I see is gratifying, yet concerning.
Every age and lifestyle in our valley is
represented in the ER. The physicians, staff
and paramedics are expeditious and
serious, but good-natured and kind to their
patients and to each other. The expanded
ER feels spacious and modern and finally
there is more privacy and a good deal less
Roger
Seaver
CEO, Henry
Mayo Hospital
noise than before. This part is gratifying.
The “patient board” is what concerns
me. This digital tracking board is quite
large and is mounted high on the wall over
the nursing station. It shows how many
patients might go home and how many are
waiting for a hospital bed. Their ages range
from 1 to 95. As the clock ticks closer to 6
p.m., I know this board will fill up.
One recent evening I counted 15
individuals on that “patient board” who
were waiting for a hospital bed. At that
point my concern turned to resolve. This
list would mean waits from 24 to 48 hours
for some patients.
Fortunately, it’s a deficit we can fix. The
master plan is part of that solution.
When we started the master planning
process three years ago we had already
embarked on a multitude of improvement
and expansion projects, including
participation in public report cards, the
addition of a new nursing unit (“MedSurg
4”) and expansion of the ER. To protect
this community asset, we knew we’d need
to examine land use for our campus and
develop a 25-year plan for it.
We could clearly visualize how we could
create the ideal healthcare environment to
surpass expectations. I personally see it
every time I speak to a caring employee or
meet with a dedicated physician. We see it
through the eyes of our supporters. We
frequently see it reflected in the faces of
patients and families.
We have the potential to be one of the
best hospitals in Southern California.
Putting the hospital on a stable financial
path is fulfilling, but not the only milestone
on the course we’re set to take. I don’t
mean to downplay its importance or to
diminish the outstanding staff that helped
turn the hospital around. A strong financial
performance is completely necessary to
funding current and future improvements.
We must improve the quality and safety
of patient care, increase our capacity to
serve the Santa Clarita Valley, align more
compatibly with our physicians, and
improve our reputation for service and
care. In short, we must exceed your
expectations. And we will.
Roger Seaver is the chief executive
officer of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial
Hospital.
SCV Is Blessed with Numerous Charitable Organizations
T
he best way to judge the future is
to look at the past. Here in Santa
Clarita we have a remarkable
history. We support our residents like
no other community that I know of.
I could not begin to name all of our
charitable endeavors but I will mention
a few I am very familiar with.
Our Senior Center is a shining light
known all over the country. It makes it
easy to relocate elderly relatives due to
all the social activities, special
programs and home delivered meals.
The local youth have a great Boys
and Girls Club. We could not leave out
Speeches
best to make them less of a problem. So,
vote for me for mayor of Santa Clarita!
John Murillo
Good citizens, as you know I am
running for mayor of Santa Clarita. My
top campaign goal is to address the
energy fuel crisis. My goal is to petition
and persuade the federal government to
allow this city to develop our own fuel
by using geothermal energy instead of
fossil fuel, like solar and wind power.
Gas prices have been very high in the
past year. I hope that if we develop our
own cost-efficient fuel, gas prices would
be lowered substantially to the price of
$1. People could then use this extra
money too spend on living expenses and
charity. As part of my campaign, I also
want to encourage recycling and
Greg Nutter
Rotary Club
Carousel Ranch, which is such a
fantastic organization for kids with
challenges, or the Child and Family
efficient energy use. Together we can
save energy and gas. Our schools are
also my top priority. I want to remodel
our schools with new learning supplies
and facility buildings so students can
enjoy the learning experience. Finally, I
would like to address unemployment. I
believe that our growing population
needs new stores and shops. These new
businesses will be built to employ the
unemployed. All of these jobs will pay
over minimum wage. So, vote for me
and join the voyage to a better future.
Jennifer Be
Grade 5, Cedarcreek School
In the year 2017, much will be
happening. Santa Clarita Valley will be
one of the five busiest cities in
California. Traffic is horrible. There
isn’t a view of the mountains anymore.
There is trash every five steps you walk.
All the snakes and rabbits we saw before
are disappearing. What will happen?
That is up to the mayor.
If I am elected mayor, I will be trying
Center, which provides counseling to
education.
Our community is also concerned
with health issues for those less
fortunate.
Samuel Dixon Family Health Center
and numerous cancer non-profits such
as Michael Hoefflin Foundation, Circle
of Hope Inc., and Brenda Mehling
Foundation provide assistance and
support.
We have great support for our
hospital and cancer centers. Others
contribute their time and money for the
Diabetes Association, Arthritis
Foundation and American Cancer
Society.
From the Betty Ferguson Foundation
to Zonta, Soroptimist, Kiwanis, The
Lions, The ELKS Lodge, The Rotary
Club — all of them never miss an
opportunity to contribute.
It is such a pleasure living in a
community with so many generous
givers of their time and money. I see
nothing down the road to keep us from
being “Simply the Best.”
to make Santa Clarita cleaner. We will,
as a group, volunteer to pick up trash
every two Sundays. I would encourage
everyone to come, because you will be
rewarded with a beautiful environment.
Wild animals are disappearing from
what they called “home” because we are
not very passionate about their
environment. I hope to change this
because this was originally their home.
I’d like to re-create their environment by
making more nature centers if we could
hold a fundraiser.
If you still won’t elect me for mayor,
you should know that I will do
everything that I have listed. I know I
will because I will be rewarded with our
beautiful city.
Now you know what I will do as
mayor. I know I will be your future
mayor.
brought to development. For instance,
we have more restaurants, movable
sidewalks, floating cars and many more
inventions to make life better in Santa
Clarita. We still have a few more
problems to work out. For example, we
need more trees in the city, there are not
enough parks, and one hospital, Henry
Mayo, cannot meet the needs of all the
people. And, we still have a vast
problem of homeless people living on
the streets. So you see we still need to
improve things in our city.
Santa Clarita needs to advance in how
we deal with pollution so that we can
have a cleaner environment. You might
say: “How can we be more advanced?”
The first thing I propose is to have each
family plant at least one tree on their
property to help with the environment.
Then we will have cleaner air to breathe.
Another problem we need to address is
that we have too few parks. We need
more parks so that the children in Santa
Clarita can be active and healthy, so kids
Alex Lau
Today, in the year 2017, many new
remarkable inventions have been
Greg Nutter represents the Rotary
Club of Santa Clarita.
See HONORS, page 43
Honors
don’t become obese. A high number of
kids in Santa Clarita are becoming obese
and are developing diabetes. If we had
more parks and recreation programs, the
kids would exercise and have a healthy
body to be active.
The reason we need more hospitals is
because people are in accidents and
there is overcrowding in the one hospital
we have in town. I think Santa Clarita
needs at least three more hospitals so
that when people have an emergency
there will be a hospital nearby. Also,
there are homeless people still on
sidewalks sleeping out in the dark, cold
night. I think we need to build shelters
for the homeless so that they don’t have
to sleep outside in the cold; instead, they
can sleep in warm beds and have food.
As you can see, if you elect me I will
help with the environmental issues, build
more parks, add more hospitals and
continue to build shelters for the
homeless. This is what I would do to
improve Santa Clarita.
Kelsey Brixon
It is the year 2017, and it is the day I
give my speech to the public on why I
would make a great mayor. I am running
to be the mayor of Santa Clarita. As I
nervously step inside my hover car, I
look over my speech. A wave of warm
air blasts in my face like a boat when it
hits water for the very first time.
Suddenly, many doubts about being
mayor come to me. I’m sure I want to be
mayor — I think.
As I soar above Santa Clarita in my
small hover car, I notice that this town is
extremely teeming. There are too many
buildings to count. There is is, the place
where I will present my speech. I arrived
just in time. It was my turn. Everyone
cheers for me. I begin to read my
speech, and they begin to enjoy it. I said,
“I will do everything our past mayors
have done and more. I will capture the
criminals, repair all of the broken stop
signs and streetlights, and most
importantly I will provide every person
in this town with a second chance.”
As of today, I am mayor of Santa
Clarita.
Brian Hicks
My name is Brian Hicks. I’m 23 years
old, and I am running for mayor of Santa
Clarita for the year 2017. Now, Santa
Clarita is a wonderful place to live, but I
strongly feel that I can make some
greatly needed improvements.
First of all, I feel that the overcrowded
roads are a huge problem. With Santa
Clarita’s rapidly growing population,
traffic is never atypical. I plan to make
wider roads so that more cars can drive
on them, speeding up the flow of traffic.
I also plan to build more freeway exits
so that large amounts of cars don’t enter
one road at the same time, and there
won’t be any backups when exiting
freeways.
Secondly is the population growth
issue. With the abundance of homes
being built, Santa Clarita is becoming
overpopulated. I plan to cease the
construction of homes. This will prevent
Santa Clarita from becoming
overcrowded. This will also prevent
traffic from becoming worse.
Overall, I hope that you will vote for
me as your next mayor for the year 2017
because I will prevent overpopulation
and an increase in traffic, and ensure that
all residents will have a better lifestyle.
Thank you.
Tania Murillo
Today, March 9 of the year 2017, I am
asking you to please vote for me. There
are tons of problems going on in this
city. I solemnly promise that if I am
chosen as mayor I would figure out ways
to solve these problems in an
economical, efficient and ecological
way. I as well promise not to disrespect
any of you citizens and to try to make
this a better place to live if I am voted as
mayor. These are some of my ideas to
make this a better city.
1. Low-paid jobs. This is one of the
bigger problems in the whole city. Lowpaid jobs cause many people to leave
this wonderful place, especially old
people. If I were to be the new mayor, I
would increase the salaries to that
people and visitors could come and
think of Santa Clarita as a city of
opportunities for workers. I would also
create new jobs with of course well-paid
salaries according to whatever the job is
— not too much, and not too little.
2. Traffic. Santa Clarita is a big city
with a huge traffic problem because on
the last few years it has been growing
and there has not been built enough
avenues and streets. We need to build
new avenues and stop making houses
where there is overpopulation.
Points No. 1 and 2 are the principal
problems that, if I am voted as the
mayor, would attend to resolve
immediately. Vote for me!
Parker Paisley
“Ten years ago, I was in the sixth
grade, at Helmers Elementary School.
I’ve come a long way since then, and so
have we, after 10 years of struggling
through minimum wages and crowded
streets we have come so far that we
cannot give up. Even after the mountains
were covered with homes, and our
See STUDENTS, page 44
44
More Wide Open Spaces, Please!
H
igh on my priority list for our city is
working to bring about more open
space, trails and parks. When I
think of wonderful communities across the
country, first and foremost in my mind is
their great open spaces!
Yellowstone National Park in
Montana/Wyoming, Zion National Park in
Utah, even Central Park in New York are
the jewels in the crowns of these cities and
states. I’d like to make Santa Clarita a city
that is recognized for its abundance of open
space, natural areas and green beauty.
Over the last several years, the city of
Santa Clarita has successfully brought
more than 3,300 acres of open space into
public ownership, forever preserving these
precious lands. The old saying, “buy land,
they ain’t making any more of it!” is so
true. The most important thing we can do
for future generations is to preserve land in
and around the Santa Clarita Valley.
To that end, the city has entered into
Students
streets were crammed with over 200,000
cars, we endured through the changes.
Gas prices have gone through the roof
and into space, yet we endured through
this. My goal as mayor is to make a
better life for all of us, not just the
families, and not just the seniors, but all
of us. I will pressure large businesses to
build assets out here, to bring in a steady
income for the citizens in this
community that will work hard at their
jobs. Again, my purpose as mayor would
not be for myself, but for the benefit of
the community. Thank you.”
Dustin Frezieres
I’m Dustin Frezieres. If elected mayor
of Santa Clarita, I will help to stop the
destruction of nature, bring in more
local good-paying jobs, and stop
citywide pollution.
First, top stop destruction of nature,
I’ll utilize the flatter areas of the city
and leave the mountains alone, or make
them wildlife sanctuaries.
To bring in more good-paying jobs,
I’ll have the board of education
encourage kids to be entrepreneurs, and
invite companies like Boeing, Microsoft
and many more to set up offices,
manufacturing plants and distribution
facilities (stores/shops).
Lastly, to stop citywide pollution, I’ll
try to convert the gasoline to ethanol,
hydrogen, even air. With hydrogen the
only byproduct is water.
If you like nature, want clean water, a
higher-paying job or more wildlife, vote
for Dustin Frezieres.
Laurene
Weste
Councilwoman,
Santa Clarita
partnerships with agencies such as the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to
help increase preserved open space
acreage. By pooling our resources, we have
been able to purchase more land for
preservation.
An example of this partnership is the
joint ownership of Whitney Canyon. This
442-acre canyon area located adjacent to
Elsmere Canyon, at the end of San
Fernando Road near SR 14, is now
Honorable Mention
Grades 7-9
Julie Gabler
As I am putting on my white suit, I
glance out the window of my brand new
house. As I gaze over the town that was
so much smaller, I remember back to the
time when there weren’t so many new
houses and shopping centers. Where we
walked more and could clearly see the
blue sky almost every day. I decided
right there and then I would try to make
Santa Clarita become that beautiful town
we once were. I would encourage people
who were buying new cars to buy
electric cars. Also, everyone to walk to
places close to home. I would sponsor
activities that would get children, teens
and adults to go out, exercise and have
fun. I would ask teachers to encourage
students to exercise and help save our
environment. I would raise money to
help old schools provide a beautiful
campus along with an excellent
education for the students. Lastly, I
would open City Hall to hear
suggestions and complaints and to
address them immediately.
Danielle Bozarth
Grade 8, Arroyo Seco Jr. High
The 2017 election for mayor of Santa
Clarita is nearing and the pressure’s on.
In the last 10 years, Santa Clarita has
gone from busy to busier. The
population has skyrocketed and newly
built homes and businesses flood the
city. It’s a rare sight to see someone
driving anything other than a hybrid
vehicle. The weather is much warmer all
year-round, due to the increasing
problem of global warming. In running
preserved in perpetuity for future
generations. These lands provide buffer
zones from encroaching development, as
well as providing beautiful open spaces to
enjoy and for the benefit of future
generations.
Did you know that when the city was
first created 20 years ago, an infrastructure
study done at that time revealed a billiondollar infrastructure deficit here in Santa
Clarita? That’s a billion dollars that were
identified as being needed for parks, open
space, roads, sewers, schools and more. At
the time of incorporation, in 1987, the city
inherited just 57 acres of parkland, most of
these in grave need of repair. Today, that
number has grown to 260 acres of pristine
parkland, 34 miles of off-street bicycle and
pedestrian trails and 3,300 acres of open
space, yet still woefully short of the 800
acres of parkland needed to meet federal
standards of 5 acres per 1,000 people.
Right now, I am working with a
dedicated group of residents and business
leaders on a plan to bring even more land
into public ownership for the purpose of
forever preserving it. I believe the best way
to protect our community from
overdevelopment is to buy undeveloped
land and preserve it as open space/natural
parkland. I encourage you to learn more
about how we can protect our community
and bring more land into public ownership
for preservation.
The city is here to provide solutions and
improve our quality of life. We want to help
you get where you need to go more quickly
and safely, provide you with beautiful
places to hike, picnic and recreate, and
protect those lands around our valley from
encroachment. I am very proud to be part of
our successful city and look forward to
serving you and your family.
for mayor, I would like to address to the
citizens of Santa Clarita some ideas I
have to better our community. First, I
hope to annex the boundaries of our city.
Stevenson Ranch and Castaic will
become part of Santa Clarita and areas
such as McBean Parkway by Six Flags
amusement park as well. Santa Clarita
should be able to benefit from these
areas. Also, I would like to slow down
the production of houses in this city. The
growing population is becoming too
much and what was untouched land 10
years ago is covered with crowded
neighborhoods and busy highways.
These are just a few changes I would
like to make as mayor. Vote for Danielle
Bozarth for mayor of Santa Clarita for
2017.
that, Santa Clarita.
Santa Clarita, I ask you this one thing
and one thing only. And that is to elect
me as your 2017 thru 2018 mayor of the
new and improved Santa Clarita Valley.
And Santa Clarita, if you give me this
one thing I promise you that I will be the
best mayor you have had and will have.
Alyssa Liddle
Grade 7, Rio Norte Jr. High School
Dear Voters,
Let me take this opportunity to
introduce myself to you. My name is
Alyssa Liddle and I will be the next
mayor in the Santa Clarita Valley. There
are many reasons why I am the best
candidate for this important position,
least of all being my many
qualifications. I have lived in the Santa
Clarita Valley for 10 years. I attended
Rio Norte Junior High School and West
Ranch High School. I have lived in
several cities in California, allowing me
to bring fresh ideas to this valley from
the other communities in which I have
lived.
In the time that I have lived in the
SCV area, I have seen some amazing
changes. Buildings are now earthquakeproof, meaning they will not just fall
when an earthquake hits. Residents
have become friendlier and kinder.
People here are among the friendliest
people I have met, and I thank you for
Laurene Weste is a member of the Santa
Clarita City Council.
Hannah Smith
“Good morning! I should be elected
for mayor because of my background
and people skills.” That would start my
speech to convince the citizens of the
Santa Clarita Valley to elect me in the
year 2017. Ten years from now, homes
are different. My robo-house greets me
with a glass of lemonade. I know what
futuristis technology should replace the
outdated computers. These are some of
the reasons I should be elected mayor.
My first reason is that I was brought
up well. I grew up with a mom, a dad,
and an older brother. We went to church
each Sunday and ate dinner together
almost every night. Because of my good
childhood, I know what families need
for success. A good family needs a good
school, a proper house and a safe
neighborhood. Qualities of a good leader
include people skills, which I clearly
possess. You can’t have someone lead
who doesn’t know how to deal with
people. I can be trusted to make smart
decisions.
In conclusion, I should be elected
because I have an education and I have
good people skills. I should be elected
mayor and am confident that I could
lead this city to success.
Gracie Bauer
Citizens, friends, voters, I am here
See PROGRESS, page 53
Slow Down? No Way
People looking for
new homes in the SCV
are expected to have
many options over the
next 10 years.
■
By Reina V. Slutske
SIGNAL BUSINESS WRITER
W
ith an estimated 148 people
moving into the Santa Clarita Valley every week, the
next 10 years will signal
more construction for the area, with some
housing projects already under way or
already beginning sales.
“The growth is not going to slow down,”
said Pam Ingram, chairwoman Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce board and
a local real estate agent.
New developments such as the longawaited Newhall Ranch, between Highway
126 and Magic Mountain Parkway, and
Local observers expect residential growth to continue at a rapid pace in
the Santa Clarita Valley over the next decade.
River Village near Newhall Ranch Road
will be taking in the majority of people
who will move in over the next 10 years.
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Ingram said when it comes to people
deciding to relocate from the Los Angeles
area, they often choose Santa Clarita or
another community that is very similar to
it, such as Thousand Oaks in Ventura
County.
“If you ask around the L.A. region, this
is a desirable place to live,” she said.
As of last November there were 33,891
housing units that were either in planning,
approved or already under construction,
according to the Real Estate and Economic
Outlook.
Although some of these projects, such as
plans for development on the former Whittaker-Bermite property, are not estimated
to be ready in the next decade, several projects will be opening up model homes within the next year, and several are already
under construction.
The biggest of all these developments is
Newhall Ranch, which upon completion
will have 20,800 homes in 19 square miles
— Santa Clarita covers about 50 square
miles — with parks, trails, a golf course,
schools and shopping centers.
In the next 10 years, at least a few thousand of those homes should be completed,
said Marlee Lauffer, spokeswoman for The
Newhall Land and Farming Co., which has
planned Newhall Ranch.
Newhall Ranch will also add 20,000 perSee HOUSING, page 47
46
Drawing the Boundaries
Will the SCV have
one city, or more, and
what areas will annex
to Santa Clarita? The
debate is in full swing.
■
By Kristopher Daams
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
W
ith talk of studies, analyses
and petitions, the debate
over whether certain local
unincorporated communities
should or would annex into the city of
Santa Clarita has been a hot topic since the
turn of the new year.
A preliminary study is set to be undertaken to determine whether the valley’s areas
west of Interstate 5 could potentially become
their own city.
That study — funded with $25,000 from
Supervisor Michael Antonovich — came
after the city made it known it wanted to ease
annexation requirements for local unincorporated communities that rely on county government based in downtown Los Angeles.
The city offered an equal sum intended to
be spent on a study to look into the potential
for the west side communities to annex into
Santa Clarita.
•••
Whether city boundaries will ever wrap
around those communities has yet to be seen,
but over the next decade it’s possible there
could be future annexations as some local
concerned citizens are circulating petitions in
their unincorporated communities to annex.
“On average since the city has incorporated there has been one or more annexations
per year,” said Paul Brotzman, the city’s
director for community development. “I
would anticipate that trend to continue over
the next decade.”
There have been 28 annexations since the
city incorporated in 1987, and when the city
did form, county officials carved out much of
the Santa Clarita Valley from the boundaries
for the new city, leaving much of the planning process — and direction for growth —
with county planning officials.
But as the homes were built and people
moved in, some of them have taken to the
streets to collect signatures in hopes of meeting the city’s 60 percent requirement to
annex their unincorporated areas.
Efforts like that have popped up all
around, said Kai Luoma, senior planner with
the city who works on annexations.
Due west of the rural Sand Canyon
area, there’s a petition circulating. There’s
also one floating in a thumb-shaped, unincorporated area right in the middle of
Sand Canyon.
Courtesy illustration
The planned Newhall Ranch development, with more than 20,000 homes, is the subject of speculation over
whether it will eventually annex to the city of Santa Clarita or will be part of another municipality.
“But we can’t create an island,” Luoma
said, regarding potential pockets of unincorporated turf surrounded by a city’s boundaries.
Perhaps an area that’s the closest to meeting the 60 percent signature requirement are
the Castaic areas of Hasley Hills, Live Oak
and North Bluff.
“I just know we’re very close,” Hasley
Hills resident Brian Roney said about meeting the 60 percent mandate. He’s one of the
residents collecting signatures in those areas,
and he added that the majority of needed signatures have already been met.
That effort has been going on for the past
few years and meeting the 60 percent signature requirement may be about 100 signatures away.
Roney also said he received signatures
supporting annexation from property owners
of areas at the Valencia Commerce Center as
well.
That area has been hotly contested by the
Castaic community. As a property tax generator for any potential new city west of Interstate 5, the city’s annexing it could compromise a potential new city’s economic viability.
But any annexation of Hasley Hills, North
Bluff and Live Oak would require a contiguous boundary with Santa Clarita, so whether
an annexation of nearby Valencia Commerce
Center is necessary remains to be seen.
Residents in that area probably could have
already submitted their signatures if the
Santa Clarita City Council adopted a proposed annexation policy that would have
reduced the signature requirement to bare
majority.
At the urging of two members of two local
town councils, the City Council postponed
consideration of the proposed policy until
June, when an initial feasibility study would
be completed.
There are also a few residents in the Sunset Pointe community gathering signatures,
up to a dozen in some areas north of Copper
Hill Road and petitions are circulating in a
small community north of Decoro Drive,
east of Copper Hill Road and south of Rio
Norte Junior High School.
•••
Eventually, it is possible that the city’s
northern boundaries could extend as far as
the Angeles National Forest.
That’s where the city’s sphere of influence
boundaries extend.
A city’s sphere of influence is the area
approved by municipal boundary formation
officials in which the city is notified of pending projects.
Luoma described them as the “probable
ultimate boundaries of the city.”
An area south of the city near the
Interstate 5/Highway 14 interchange is in
the city of Los Angeles’ sphere of influence. It acquired it to have a voice over a
watershed underneath it, and that same
area is being sought by Santa Clarita to
come under its own sphere of influence
for the same reason.
A builder hoping to develop that area sued
Santa Clarita over its application.
One area in the city’s sphere of influence
is the residential communities along the
street known as Jake’s Way.
Another is a north-south stretch of San
Francisquito Canyon Road north of city limits, which is in the city’s sphere until it reaches the Angeles National Forest.
In the eastern part of the Santa Clarita Valley, areas around the intersection of Sierra
Highway and Vasquez Canyon Road are in
See ANNEX, page 47
Housing
manent jobs to the area, she said.
In addition to completion of parts of
Newhall Ranch, Lauffer said the master plan for Valencia, which includes
the developments for River Village,
West Creek and West Hills, located
near Copper Hill Road, and Entrada,
which will be near Six Flags Magic
Mountain, is also anticipated to be
completed over the next 10 years.
The second biggest development
anticipated beyond Newhall Ranch,
NorthLake, is located in Castaic and is
expected to be the home of the future
Castaic area high school.
The plan for NorthLake would
allow up to 3,900 homes and a 3.5-acre
recreation center, and would be built
out in two phases.
However, the environmental impact
report is under further review by the
county Regional Planning Commission, and is estimated to be fully completed seven years after the starting
date.
Community members, however,
have felt that with the delays on the
project, it will not be completed within
10 years.
Another factor in the Santa Clarita
Valley’s development are future developments in the specific plan for Tejon
Ranch, north of Santa Clarita near
Gorman.
The current proposal is 23,000
homes for the Centennial project,
which has been submitted to the
Regional Planning Department.
They will impact the Santa Clarita
community in the future both in homes
and in the economy, said Larry
Mankin, president and CEO of the
Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to the many projects that
are being proposed or have been
approved by planning commissions,
there are also other projects that are
anticipated over the next 10 years.
For Stevenson Ranch, it could also
mean the conclusion of the development, with phase five in the planning
stages with Newhall Land, Lauffer
said.
Although there is anticipation for
new housing developments, there are
also some other problems that arise
with the influx of people.
“Roads are a major concern,”
Ingram said. She said it was important
as more developments came in to look
at other things that have to be built
alongside of the developments, such as
shopping centers and road expansions.
Lauffer said developers are a big
help when it comes to roads, as many
will put in money to complete roads.
For the River Village development,
Lauffer said Newhall Land put in
money for the part of the cross-valley
connector that is going to run through
Newhall Land’s development, which
will be off of Newhall Ranch Road
past Bouquet Canyon Road.
In addition, they also contributed
money for the section of the cross-valley connector between Interstate 5 and
Copper Hill and Rye Canyon roads.
“Development will help bring solutions to these problems,” she said.
Transportation and infrastructure
are the constraints for future developments in the valley, said Dena Maloney, dean of economic development
at College of the Canyons.
“How we balance those things will
determine our future,” she said. “And
we don’t want to lose the quality of life
that makes this community ideal for
people to work and live and raise families.”
There are some things that are not
expected to change.
Agua Dulce, which is known for its
rural feel, customized homes built on
larger lots and many horse owners is
not expected to go the route of tract
housing.
In addition, commercial developments will also remain at a minimum,
and residents of the area will be served
by the Golden Valley shopping center.
“It’s horse-zoned,” Ingram said.
“They like it that way.”
Annex
the sphere.
Those areas, with bigger ranch-style homes, larger lots,
horse stables and its visibly rural flavor can be more easily compared to an area like Agua Dulce than a masterplanned Valencia.
To Brotzman, the city’s current sphere of influence
may grow.
“We actually think that ultimately the city’s sphere of
influence will expand,” Brotzman said.
•••
The city’s sphere of influence does not extend west of
Interstate 5, where Six Flags Magic Mountain is located.
“We’re very happy with our existing situation with Los
Angeles County,” theme park spokeswoman Sue Carpenter said in February, when asked about the theme park’s
thoughts of having its areas included in the planned initial
feasibility analysis.
Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer also said
in February that questions regarding the potential for having the planned Newhall Ranch community be included
in the IFA’s study area were “premature.”
“It sounds like it’s just kind of getting started and we
don’t understand the scope or the purpose of the study,”
she said. “We don’t know exactly what the study is doing.
But at this point we’re working with the county on our
property west of the 5.”
Newhall Land’s vast land holdings west of Interstate 5
are planned for a mega master-planned development of
more than 20,000 homes.
“Unless there were something radical to happen in state
law, I’d say that gradually the residents around the city
would want to become part of the city,” Brotzman said.
48
CAR CARE TIP #1
Advanced Import
Specialist
Dan Vels
Servicing Hondas & Acuras
Serving Santa Clarita Valley since 1979
26831 Ruther, Unit K, Santa Clarita
• Replace worn
windshield wiper
blades
CAR CARE TIP #2
A&K
Body & Fender • Frame
& Alignment Specialists
• Change oil and
filters and get a
tune-up if needed
Serving Santa Clarita Valley Since 1973
Complete Frame, Alignment, Brake & Suspension
Facilities, Quality Auto Body & Paint Work
25834 Springbrook Av. Saugus
661-250-7123
661-259-3228
CAR CARE TIP #3
CAR CARE TIP #4
Continental
Motorcars
Bohan’s Automotive
• Check Tire Tread
Depth &
Tire Pressure
Established Since 1957
Engine Rebuilding • Clutches
• Transmissions • Brakes • A/C
• Tune-ups • Smog • Computerized
Systems • Fuel Injection &
Diagnostics
26741 Oak Ave. Canyon Country
• Clean windows
inside & out for
better visibility
Specializing in:
Audi, Volvo, Mercedes, VW, BMW, Porsche
• Inspect cooling
system hoses for
leaks & drive belts
for cracks
ENGINE
DYNAMICS
Brian Clark, Owner
24135 Rail Road Ave.,
Newhall
25845 San Fernando Rd. #19 Santa Clarita
(Next to Saugus Cafe)
661-255-5381
661-251-4288
CAR CARE TIP #5
Quality Service & Auto Repair for Over 25 years • Factory Certified
Gary’s Auto Collision Center
It never stays a wreck at Gary’s Auto Collision Center
Quality
Honesty
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Li mite
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Impeccable work in record time to get you back on the road.
661-259-4150
Halsey’s Auto Center
Family Owned • Since 1983
General Repair • Tires • Preventive Maintenance Services
27565 Sierra Hwy. Canyon Country
(Next to Waterwheel Car Wash)
661-251-2327
Tel: 661 255-1340 or 661 255-9694
24247 Railroad Ave.(Just South of Lyons) • www.GarysAutoCollision.com
CAR CARE TIP #6
CAR CARE TIP #7
• Have the antifreeze
tested to avoid
overheating
• Don’t use harmful
detergents when
washing your car
KIWI MOTORS
Honda & Acura Independent
Service Specialist
We recommend you change your oil
every 3 months or 3,000 miles.
24860 N. San Fernando Rd, Santa Clarita
661-799-1688
CAR CARE TIP #10
CAR CARE TIP #11
• Auto technicians say
the key to keeping vehicles running well today
and down the road is
routine maintenance
• Brake fluid, which can
become contaminated,
should be replaced
periodically as a safety
measure
“I finally met someone who
$
is low maintenance.”
Let us take care of your car’s factory
scheduled maintenance.
Trust the Midas Touch.
™
See your specific vehicle’s
warranty book for details
24
95 $5 OFF
regular price
of $29.95
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Midas Touch
Maintenance
Package
• Change Oil & Filter
(up to 5 quarts of 5W30 or 10W30 oil)
• Rotate & Inspect 4 Tires
• Visual Brake Check
• Courtesy Check
Saugus 661-255-0855
25745 San Fernando Rd.
Canyon Country 661-298-7131
26920 Sierra Highway
CAR CARE TIP #14
• Avoid a stalled vehicle. A
stalled car can cause a
ripple effect that brings out
the worst in drivers. Don’t
put you car in jeopardy
Battery, Fluid, Belts & Hoses, Air Filter, Coolant
See manager for details. Other grades & synthetics available at extra cost.
Diesel vehicles extra. Coolant may be recycled. Custom wheels extra. Brake
check is visual only.Not good with any other offer.Most vehicles,light trucks.
At participating shops only.Void if copied or transferred and where prohibited by law. Any other use constitutes fraud.
CAR CARE TIP #8
CAR CARE TIP #9
• Take a few minutes
to inspect your
vehicle to ensure that
all of the lights are
working properly
• Ignoring warning
lights can lead to
ruining the engine
Maranatha
Automotive Service
Foreign & Domestic Auto Repair Specializing in G.M. Products
26770 Oak Avenue
Canyon Country
661-251-5600
CAR CARE TIP #12
CAR CARE TIP #13
• If a damaged windshield
is not replaced and
becomes dislodged from the
vehicle during a rollover,
the roof‘s crush resistance
may be compromised
• Loose gas caps are
among many reasons
for wasted fuel
NAPA AUTO
& TRUCK PARTS
20541 Soledad Cyn.
661.252.8011
50
Meet the New SCV
As it becomes
something called a
‘boomburb,’ the Santa
Clarita Valley will
continue to see its
population become
increasingly diverse in
the next decade.
■
By Jessica Marks
SIGNAL STAFF WRITER
S
tirring her coffee and looking
out at Sierra Highway, Christina
Aguilar thought back to when
she graduated from Canyon
High School 20 years earlier.
“It was different back then,” she said.
“I remember thinking, like, ‘I’m the
only Mexican in this whole class.’”
That is not the case anymore, she
said.
Approaching the 20th anniversary of
its incorporation as a city, Santa Clarita
has grown from a small rural community to what is referred to as a “boomburb” — a rapidly growing city that
appears to be a suburb, though it has the
population of a more urban area.
It’s also been a time of cultural diversity increases and demographic
changes.
Canyon High School, which had a less
than 12 percent Latino population in
1987, is now more than 28 percent Latinos, according to state documentation.
However, while the past has shown a
shift in demographics in the Santa Clarita Valley, it is difficult to determine if
that will be indicative of the future, said
David Witzling, spokesman for Southern California Association of Governments, the organization that compiles
population information for the city of
Santa Clarita.
“We have a harder time predicting
race and demographic changes,” he said.
It’s easier to track the expected developments of local areas and estimate the
number of people more precisely.
Based on the 2000 census report,
Santa Clarita had 151,039 residents.
By SCAG calculations, that number
will jump to 200,104 by the year 2015
and 231,841 by the year 2030, Witzling
said.
Santa Clarita has been an area of
tremendous growth, topping at 3 percent
Photo illustration by RENEH AGHA/The Signal
The face of the Santa Clarita Valley is expected to continue becoming a
more diverse one.
yearly growth, rather than 1.7 percent
like that of Los Angeles County or California as a whole, according to SCAG
documentation.
All that growth has kept Santa Clarita
on its toes in terms of adapting to
increasing demographics.
In 2004, more than 78 percent of
Santa Clarita residents were reported as
being white, less than 6 percent Asian,
less than 3 percent black and less than
10 percent of other various races.
However, a look into schools today
shows a significant change even within
the last few years and may lend itself to
show what the face of Santa Clarita may
look like in the future.
This year, the Saugus Union School
District hired a Spanish translator for
the district to keep up with the district’s
growing need for such a service.
At Rio Vista and Cedarcreek elementary schools, every single paper that is
sent home to parents is sent in both
Spanish and English because Spanishspeaking students who are English
learners make up approximately 15 percent of the school’s total population,
according to state documentation.
Still, students who speak Korean only
are on the rise, making up between 7
and 8 percent of the student population
at some schools in the district.
“At some point, we may provide Kore-
an translation, but it’s not needed at the
district level at this time,” said Joan Lucid,
assistant superintendent of instruction.
Still, it may be in the future.
Even if the population growth
remained stagnant over the next 10
years, bumping up just 10 percent a year
or so, the sheer numbers of multi-cultural and single language learners could be
astronomical.
For example, the William S. Hart
Union High School District expects the
student population at Rancho Pico
Junior High to be at 1,728 in the 201617 school year, according to rough projections from Davis Demographics, a
company that calculates growth and
anticipated student growth from the district.
In 2006, Rancho Pico had just slightly
more than 16 percent of its total student
population registered as Asian and a
majority of it being Korean, many who
are enrolled in the school’s English language learning program.
Should that percentage remain constant, more than 280 students on the
campus would be Asian — a number
that is significant, equaling just slightly
less than all of the minorities combined
at the school today.
But it seems as if the school is getting
ready for that leap.
Already, the school has Koreanspeaking staff on hand who translate
conversations between parents, teachers
and students whenever needed, Principal Dave LeBarron said at a board meeting recently.
However, translating English into
written Korean can be difficult, he
added, and the school has been unable
to translate its entire works into the language, as it has been able to do for the
Spanish speakers.
For the city of Santa Clarita, perhaps
the shift would equal a similar change,
should a large population demand it.
In other cities in California, when a
community has a significant number of
a single demographic, businesses and
signs are posted in the language.
Already in Santa Clarita, there are a
few businesses that do such a thing and
that’s exciting to Eleanor Chou of
Saugus.
“I think it’s great to see businesses
embracing other languages,” she said.
She attends church at the Santa Clarita United Methodist Church in Saugus,
where Korean services are held every
Sunday afternoon.
It’s been a successful venture for the
church, Pastor Stan Fix said in a recent
interview.
“We enjoy people of all cultures, and
we’ve been enjoying a very strong relationship with our Korean family here,”
he said.
Arts
be new arts venues.
“We will probably need anther performance hall or performing arts civic
center in the near future, within the next
decade,” he said. “Our next project
would be a large-scale outdoor city
amphitheater, it is just in the discussion
and preliminary planning stages.”
Lantis said they are looking at
upwards of 22 different sites, and still
considering whether to partner with
public, corporate or private entities.
“Nothing has been decided,” he said.
“We are in the beginning stages of a feasibility study and depending on the
response and the site and how the stars
align.”
Lantis spoke of other plans the city
has for moving forward into the next 10
years.
“I should mention we are increasing
the visual art element, an area that is
currently underserved,” he said. “It may
include a museum in Newhall as part
of our civic arts model. There are ways
to achieve that. We are always looking
at things like the Amgen event, and the
File photo
The Repertory East Playhouse in Downtown Newhall presents professionally produced live theater.
opportunity to find other events. It put
SCV on the map, we were written up the
New York Times, the San Francisco
Chronicle and all over Europe.”
A Crystal Ball Look at the
Performing Arts Center
■ The “jewel
in the
crown” of the arts in
the Santa Clarita
Valley looks ahead.
Since it opened in October 2004, the
College of the Canyons Performing Arts
Center has become a true destination for
theatrical, music and dance performances,
with most of its professional performances
selling out every season.
“The center brings a tremendous diversity of programming to the community so
that residents no longer have to drive to Los
Angeles to see top-notch entertainment,”
Sue Bozman, dean of district communication, marketing and external relations.
Beginning with its full production schedule in 2004, Bozman said it has become the
venue of choice for the valley, offering
broad appeal to patrons of the arts within
the community and beyond through performances by premiere professional, student and community-based artists.
The 47,000-square-foot facility houses a
7,500-square-foot proscenium stage, an
experimental “black box” theater with flexible seating and 886 to 926 seats in the
main theater, depending on performance
configurations.
With a full green room and self-con-
tained scene shops, costume and property
storage, an orchestra pit, make-up/dressing
room areas, lockers, showers, ticket booth
and snack bar, Bozman said the Performing
Arts Center is a one-of-a-kind performance
destination for professional and community
productions alike. In addition, Bozman said
the college’s new music and dance building
provides rehearsal space, electronic music
labs, a media library and individual practice rooms.
“Looking into our crystal ball, we predict that the Performing Arts Center will be
an enduring facility that will grow, adapt
and respond to changes in the future,
reflecting the evolving needs, desires and
interests of the community,” said Floyd
Moos, recently appointed dean of fine and
performing arts. “Our plans for 2007-2008
include offering the talents of Las Vegas
headliners,
Grammy-award-winning
recording stars, Broadway stars, internationally known artists, as well as student
and community events. The center will
continue to educate, entertain, and enrich
the community, continuously pursuing the
goal of providing relevant, timely and current exposure to the arts, whatever form
that may take.”
The College of the Canyons Performing
Arts Center, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road,
Santa Clarita, CA 91355, (661) 362-5305
http://www.canyonspac.com/contactus.html
— Signal Staff
Lantis said they will reapply once
again to be a host city for the Amgen
Tour.
“It gave us the opportunity to show
College
for new media.”
Performing Arts
The performing arts focus at COC
includes dance, music, and theater, served
by five full-time faculty members and a
large number of adjunct instructors.
“As in the visual arts, faculty members
pursue professional careers in their arts as
well as teaching future generations of
artists,” Moos said. “With two new buildings, state-of-the-art equipment and technology, these programs are poised to thrive
and support the community’s need to train
professionals in the entertainment and performing arts fields.”
Music
The Music Department offers courses in
applied music, music composition, theory,
keyboard, guitar, improvisation, voice,
technology, and musicianship. Moos said
the music department’s plans for the future
include hiring classical guitar, violin,
viola, violoncello, and double bass instructors. The department will offer classes for
brass and percussion ensembles as well as
an opera workshop.
“The department is adding new courses
to the curriculum that will attract students
interested in particular areas of music such
as opera, Latin jazz, world music and percussion,” he said. “The department is
investigating the feasibility of developing
a musical theater/opera workshop where
music and theater students can act and sing
with each other.”
off to the world as a young healthy city.
Who knows what the future holds, but I
think as we grow we can take on different events, different requirements and
challenges at an international level,” he
said. “It went very well, in spite of the
traffic challenges, and it brought 40,000
people from all over into the SCV.”
Lantis also described the method
whereby the city allocates funds for arts
organizations.
“We basically have two funding
mechanisms. One is ‘The City of Santa
Clarita Presents,’ which has $25,000 per
year specifically earmarked for organizations who use the College of the
Canyons Performing Arts Center,” he
said. “We underwrite performances at
the facility.”
He said the 2006 recipients were the
Canyon Theatre Guild, Santa Clarita
Symphony, Santa Clarita Master
Chorale and the SCV Ballet Company.
According to Lantis, the second method
of funding, the community service
grants, are run through the community
services division and set aside for pilot
arts programs.
“This year we allocated a total of
$25,000,” he said. “The funding is based
See CULTURE, page 52
Dance
In the future, Moos said the dance
department plans to work with the Performing Arts Center to bring in more professional dance companies whose repertoires feature ballet, modern and jazz, and
to bring well-known guest artists to teach
master classes in ballet, modern dance and
jazz. In addition, he said the dance department will partner with local dance studios
as well as promote COC dance performances in the community.
Theater
The Theater Department offers courses
and degrees in both theory and practice,
teaching an immediately useful set of theater skills, including acting, script-writing,
design, technical production and directing
while providing a wide spectrum of production experiences in which to practice
them.
“The program presents outstanding theatrical productions for the college, community and students,” Moos said. “Future
department plans include courses in comedy, musical theater, classical theater, diversity in American drama, and history of
costume. The department also plans to
offer innovative workshops, such as scene
study and cold reading classes, create a
partnership with a COC Resident Theatre
Company, expand the annual SCV High
School Shakespeare Festival and the annual New Works Showcase and develop a
touring theater company.”
College of the Canyons, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA
91355,
(661)
259-7800,
www.canyons.edu/info/contact
— Signal Staff
52
Culture
n specific criteria including having
501(c)3 nonprofit status, in business at
least three years and value to community and community service. Money will
be allocated to several organizations.”
For 2006, the city granted funds to
CalArts for its mentorship of the Project
Youth Orchestra and partnership with
the Santa Clarita Valley Youth Orchestra. Grants were given to “Let Me Sail,”
a therapeutic art program for differently
abled youth; the Santa Clarita Valley
Film Festival for film workshops and
the Repertory East Playhouse for its
new “81” series.
“We support all the local groups in
the arts alliance and publish them in the
bi-annual arts calendar and make sure
they are all listed in our ‘Seasons’ magazine,” he said. “Currently, crystal balls
are tough to focus on, (but we can make)
reasonable projections. Our criteria is
changing every day and there is lots of
room for exciting stuff to happen, to
support arts-related events and make
this an even cooler community to live in
or visit.”
Newhall Arts District
Old Town Newhall could soon
become the hottest hot spot of the valley, attracting folks from all over to its
theaters, unique restaurants, galleries
and nightlife. A museum might even figure into the mix. Andree Walper, economic development associate, City of
Santa Clarita, and chairwoman of the
Newhall Redevelopment Plan, said that,
in 2003, the city prepared a Newhall
Arts and Theater District Plan and said
several of the proposed projects for
Newhall have been completed or are in
the implementation process.
“The Veteran’s Historical Plaza and
the new Community Center are two
projects that have been completed since
2003, and the San Fernando Road
streetscape is in the planning stages,”
Walper said. She noted that the city’s
Arts and Events office brought the
Street Art Festival and the Newhall Art
Walk to the downtown area, and the city
located its weekly Farmers Market in
Newhall to encourage residents to
patronize the area. In addition, the Santa
Clarita Valley Film Festival was held in
Newhall and both the Canyon Theatre
Guild and the Repertory East Playhouse
present works by local artists in their
lobbies. Newhall is also the location for
the Santa Clarita Valley Artists’ Association gallery on 8th Street.
“The plans for the Newhall Art and
Theater District would definitely
include more theater, both live and film,
art galleries, artist lofts, museums and
restaurants,” Walper said. “Currently,
there is no distinct funding for a cultural
district in downtown Newhall, but there
could be various sources such as redevelopment funds, grants, endowments
Above: FRANCISCA RIVAS/The Signal; Below: WILL DAVISON/The Signal
Above: Members of the Canyon Theater Guild’s cast of “Bye Bye Birdie” entertain guests at the annual Celebrity
Waiter Dinner held at the Hyatt Valencia. The show opened this weekend at the CTG’s theater in downtown
Newhall. Below: The SCV Theatre Project is hosting a series of “salons” to raise funds to bring regional professional theater to the SCV. Scotch Ellis Loring, a veteran of more than 32 films and television shows and the
upcoming family film “Firehouse Dogs” performs.
and funding from the city’s Economic
Development Division and its Arts and
Events office.”
Santa Clarita Valley Ballet
The Santa Clarita Ballet Company
was founded in 1995 as a performing
outlet for advanced ballet students.
Founded by Executive Director Corinne
Glover and Artistic Director Carol
Guidry, the Santa Clarita Ballet Academy gives students an opportunity to perform with professional guest artists and
provides the community with quality,
semi-professional ballet theater. They
regularly receive an allocation from the
city of Santa Clarita to underwrite their
annual performances at the COC Performing Arts Center. For years, they
have been known for their annual holiday performance of the “Nutcracker”
ballet.
“The move to PAC in December 2004
gave our company far greater exposure
and we have been successful in building
an audience base of well over 8,000
people,” Glover said. “The new theater
also provides a state-of-the-art perform-
ance setting that truly enhances our productions. Over the course of the next 10
years we would like to continue building a large and supportive audience
base.”
Glover said they would also like to
include some contemporary dance
pieces in their repertoire. On June 16
they will perform “Coppelia” at the PerSee BALLET, page 58
What’s On Tap for the Next 10 Years?
W
hen the city of Santa Clarita
incorporated two decades ago, the
early “mothers and fathers of
cityhood” dreamed of a beautiful city with
a diverse job base, the ability to keep local
sales tax dollars in the city, adequate
infrastructure, well-maintained parks and a
greenbelt surrounding the city.
Now, 20 years later, much of the dream
has come to pass. I would say the greatest
opportunities in the next decade for our city
right now are providing a diverse job base,
establishing an expanded transportation
network, and adding more parks and open
space. Santa Clarita is poised to be one of
California’s most energetic, exciting places
to live in work in the state. By focusing on
these tasks, Santa Clarita can achieve an
enviable status as a top city on the West
Coast.
Assuring that Santa Clarita has a diverse
job base with good-paying jobs that can
weather economic cycles allows people to
work in the community in which they live.
This in turn allows our residents to spend
Progress
today to tell you why you should vote
for me as mayor. Santa Clarita has
made amazing technological progress
since 2007, when I first had the
ambition to become the leader of this
great city. The hydrogen fuel riddle is
being unraveled, oil is no longer a
major fuel source, and we have found
ways to recycle all trash and waste.
As your mayor, I will head the effort to
make hydrogen the safest and most green
fuel source. I will also ensure that oil
becomes obsolete to fuel our world, since
we are on the brink of destroying our
planet. Furthermore, I will ensure that our
recycling efforts and systems continue to
function cleanly, efficiently and in an
environmentally friendly manner.
I can not entirely ensure that our
destruction of the environment in the
past will not come back to haunt us,
but I can ensure that, under my
leadership, the environmental
destruction will stop. The past cannot
be changes, but the future can be.
Therefore, a vote for me is a vote
toward world preservation.
Paige Forbes
Citizens of Santa Clarita Valley, I
believe that I should be mayor for many
reasons. I will make sure our
community remains a safe place to live.
As new homes are built and the
population increases, I anticipate a need
for more schools, parks and recreation
centers.
As the population increases,
presumably so will the number of
Ken
Striplin
Assistant
City Manager
more time with their families and get
involved in nonprofit organizations, sports
teams and schools, which make for a
stronger community. We’d rather have
parents coaching soccer and T-ball or
volunteering at their child’s school than
sitting in traffic on the 405 any day!
Commuting in the Los Angeles region
takes time from family, wastes money and
hurts the environment. By taking ownership
for improving our lifestyles, actively
bringing more high-paying jobs to the
Santa Clarita Valley and working hard to
students. When I become mayor, I will
make sure that there are enough schools
built to match that increase so that there
is not overcrowding in the classrooms.
I will also make sure that children
have recreational centers to go to.
Statistically speaking, as the population
in a city increases, the crime rate tends
to rise. I would like to focus on
recreational centers as a way to keep
children active.
When you think about electing a new
mayor, you probably imagine a man in
that position. After all, many of our
politicians are men. While they’ve been
successful in their positions, I believe
women are equally as capable. That’s
why you should vote for me. I’ll bring
in new ideas to our city along with a
different perspective.
In conclusion, I believe that I should
be mayor because I will make sure that
there are adequate schools and
recreational centers for our community.
Our city is growing and we need these
facilities. I will make sure that Santa
Clarita remains a safe place to live.
Sabrina Sweet
Santa Clarita Valley for many years
has been a great community and home
to many lucky people, and every year it
just keeps getting better and better. I’ve
been in Santa Clarita since I was born,
1992, and there have been numerous
improvements since 2007. Back in
2007, we had good schools that were
Blue Ribbon, we attracted new stores in
the Town Center mall, and we ranked in
the top 10 for the safest city in the
United States. Unfortunately, schools
were overcrowded, traffic congestion
increased significantly, and we were
still lacking more medical facilities and
retain those jobs, we are effectively creating
the good life our residents deserve.
By providing adequate infrastructure, the
city and its partners can help “pave the
way” for increased mobility and, ultimately,
a higher quality of life. Creating an
effective transportation network, including
adequate roads and public transit to service
the needs of all residents, is a top priority
for the city. Achieving this goal not only
assures that businesses thrive and goods and
services flow smoothly, but also that
residents will be able to move more easily
through the valley. Projects like the city’s
$245 million cross valley connector, the
soon-to-be-opened, environmentally
friendly Transit Maintenance Facility and
spot improvement projects like the Bouquet
Canyon Road and Bridge widening, and the
San Fernando Road/Sierra Highway
improvement project, are key to improving
our local infrastructure and helping keep
businesses and residents moving.
Finally, adding to the city’s open space
and parks program will not only provide
wide open spaces to enjoy, but will help
define Santa Clarita as a top place to live
and recreate. The City Council has made it
a high priority to acquire land whenever
possible for preservation. By acquiring land
as “preserved open space,” the city is
protecting acres and acres of land in and
around our city for future use or athletic
enjoyment. To help dramatically increase
the amount of preserved open space in and
around the Santa Clarita Valley, the city will
need to continue to purchase open space
whenever possible. It is also a fact that
having a greenbelt around the city and
preserving open space actually increases
property values and the quality of our
surroundings.
Santa Clarita is definitely the land of
opportunity and I am proud to be part of the
city team that is helping deliver on the
promise of cityhood, made just two decades
ago.
hospitals. Now, 10 years later here in
2017, I am proud to say that we have
come a long way! With the rise of new
and large corporations that have settled
in Santa Clarita Valley, our town has
increased its wealth and we have now
added very attractive stores, which
means all the sales stayed in Santa
Clarita. I was also a key player in
making the traffic better for all. For
these reasons our city was able to build
more Blue Ribbon schools, more
libraries, two additional hospitals and
medical centers. In addition, I was on
the committee to help build our “sister
neighbor,” Newhall Ranch. With
Newhall Ranch by our side, we have
created more job opportunities than
ever before. With the extra population
and communities, Santa Clarita is rated
No. 1 as the best and safest city to live
in, and the best city to raise a family.
With all me experiences in making
Santa Clarita the best city, I will
continue in this direction to make it
even better and I will always be
available for town council meetings to
deal with any concerns people may
have. Vote for me for mayor of Santa
Clarita and I will continue to lead our
town in the future.
Council members.
The first thing I will do as mayor is
improve school education. To do this I
will provide more funding for the
school districts. I will provide a more
in-depth and involved curriculum. I will
raise the wage for teachers, so that the
best teachers will want to work in Santa
Clarita.
The next thing that I will try to
improve is law enforcement. Our
community has some troubles related to
gangs and drugs. To stop this I will try
my hardest to add more patrol men and
officers to the police force. I will add
side neighborhoods to most patrol
routes. By doing this, more underage
kids could be caught drinking alcohol,
doing drugs, or even selling drugs.
The third issue I will be dealing with
is the mining issue. The land that was set
for mining has already been sold. The
land is almost useless if it isn’t used for
mining. Because of this, I will let the
mining continue. I will limit the amount
of tractors and other machines that cause
pollution to a minimal level. If I don’t
do this, Santa Clarita Valley could
become a much more polluted place.
The last issue I will be dealing with
is parks and recreation. There are not
enough parks in Santa Clarita. I will
add more parks to neighborhoods and
possibly another skate park. These
parks will give kids and teenagers
something to do and possibly even get
those on drugs away from them.
If you vote for me I will improve the
city of Santa Clarita on many issues.
These issues are school education, drug
and alcohol use, the mining, and park
areas. So if you vote for me, Santa
Clarita will become a better place for
everyone.
Michael Barker
Grade 8, La Mesa Jr. High School
I have lived in Santa Clarita for 14
years, so I know many of the issues.
These issues include school education,
drugs and gangs, mining and parks. I
am dedicated to helping the community.
I am not afraid to tackle any of the
bigger issues that might come up.
Family and community are very
important to me. I have proven myself
to be trustworthy, dependable and
willing to work with my fellow City
Ken Striplin is Santa Clarita’s assistant
city manager.
See CAMPAIGNS, page 54
54
Building a Community for Our Families
W
hen gazing into a crystal ball to
see what the future holds for
Santa Clarita, I find it helpful to
look around and see where we are today.
From my vantage point, both as a
representative of the companies that build
the homes around us and as a resident, I can
see the impact that housing and
infrastructure have had – and continue to
have – on our region. Without a doubt, this
impact will continue long into the future.
The Santa Clarita Valley is a jewel in
Southern California. The surrounding
landscape is beautiful; our residents have a
high quality of life, living in safe and welldesigned neighborhoods; our schools
consistently rank in the top 10 percent in
California; and our business community is
thriving.
The city of Santa Clarita remains one of
the largest in Los Angeles County, and is
one of the fastest growing. Within 20 years,
estimates are that we will be home to
350,000 people – more than double our
current population. Most of that increase
will have come from existing families
Campaigns
Honorable Mention
Grades 10-12
Melanie Yamabe
Residents of Santa Clarita:
Elect me as your mayor in the
upcoming 2017 election. I have lived in
Santa Clarita all of my life and am
fortunate to see how Santa Clarita has
flourished. Over the last 10 years, I
have watched as new stores were
brought to life and the community
surrounding them developed. I have
watched as the city has grown to allow
more diverse interaction between
neighbors. Modernization and
expansion has proved encouraging,
after witnessing the newfound affection
for our ever-growing city. And, as
mayor, I will continue to respond to the
affection I see by devoting myself to
projects that will help Santa Clarita
thrive. Not only will I continue to
attract quality merchants, but I will also
plant trees and flowers in older areas to
continue beautifying this town. With
what I have to offer, Santa Clarita will
remain a safe and comfortable
community that retains both the
prospering economics of a big-time
city, as well as the scenery of the rural
countryside. Elect me as your mayor
and everyone will be able to relish in
the treasures Santa Clarita has to offer.
Michelle Macalintal
Holly
Schroeder
CEO, Building
Industry
Association
having children, and those children growing
up to have children of their own.
What happens 10 years from now as
those children, for whom we have designed
this wonderful community, grow up and go
into the world to start their own families?
Where are they going to live and raise their
own children? Unless we take action to
address the housing challenges we face,
those children may have to continue to live
with their parents or move out of the area in
order to afford a home.
Over the next 10 years, homebuilders
need to work with local leaders to create
In moments, I would face my
opponent in an extreme atmosphere;
ready for war. Mid-thought, mid-breath,
mid-motion; I suddenly heard the overexaggerated introduction of my
candidacy.
“Please allow me to welcome the
2017 opposing candidate, for the
position as mayor of the Santa Clarita
Valley, Michelle Macalintal!”
exclaimed the ecstatic announcer.
Instantaneous hollers and applause
from the crowd enraged throughout the
frenzied room.
At an instant, I was ambushed by
excessive flashes, vivid lights, and
tumultuous cheers. Striding into the
crowded space, I slowly but surely
made my way to the podium.
Abandoning any nerves I once
possessed, it was time to persuade my
fellow citizens of the exceptional duty I
would uptake as mayor of Santa Clarita.
“As a resident of the Santa Clarita
Valley for over 22 years, I have dealt
with the trials and tribulations that have
risen in our beautiful community. From
the endless, blazing fires, to the
atrocious mudslides; from the minor
acts of violence, to the overpopulation
of a society. I am more than willing to
fight these mishaps and rid our beloved
neighborhoods of such misfortunes.
Santa Clarita has been my home for
over two decades, and this valley will
continue to be a home for my children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren,
as well as yours.”
Evan Kono
Greetings, my fellow citizens. I have
grown up in Santa Clarita, and watched
it grow and prosper over the years. It is
opportunities whereby we can
fundamentally boost our housing supply
through a healthy mix of suburban homes
and well-designed infill developments.
Together we can revitalize downtown
Newhall. We can clean up legacy
contamination at the Whittaker-Bermite site,
unveiling tremendous potential right in the
heart of our city. Only by looking at the “big
picture” can we truly understand what we
need to do to take care of our existing
residents and plan for our future. A
significant part of that effort will also be
working together to develop infrastructure
that supports that growth: building roads,
creating parks, preserving open space and
improving water supply and infrastructure.
Our transportation system is increasingly
taxed by more cars and more commuters
each year. A decade from now, we need to
have more roadways and traffic solutions in
place to ease that burden. Transportation is a
defining element of this region, vital to
goods movement from Southern California
ports to all points in the valley and beyond.
In 10 years, the SCV would be greatly
benefited by such transportation
improvements as a dedicated truck lane and
carpool lane on Interstate 5 through the
Newhall Pass and the east-west cross valley
connector linking SR14 to Interstate 5. Both
projects would significantly reduce
congestion and increase capacity, which
would positively impact local industries.
We also need to understand how
improvements in housing and infrastructure
correlate to the cultivation and development
of a thriving business community. In 10
years, the improvements we make today
will be key to enticing businesses to come to
the area (and stay) by offering better home
prices, improved transportation, a
reasonable cost-of-living and an
unsurpassed quality of life.
We can make these changes work and we
can create a Santa Clarita that, 10 years
from now, is an improvement over the Santa
Clarita of today.
time now, which I must stand and take
an active voice in the community. That
is why I, Evan Kono, am running for
mayor.
Over the past 10 years, Santa Clarita
has grown, expanded, and reach its full
potential. We have reached our highest
population with the finished buildings
of new neighborhoods. However, now is
the time to focus on fixing and
repairing the parts of our city that have
fallen apart over long periods of time.
Sections of our community have
decayed, or have become rigid, and not
as modern as the rest of our city. We
should be using our money, as a city, to
rebuild and make our city look newer
than ever. With the changing times, we
must keep our city up-to-date. We all
want our city to look brand new, clean,
and give off a sense of happiness. Our
city is our future to create and build.
As mayor, I want to improve our
community and make it better than
ever. I will focus on what we have now,
instead of trying to expand our city
even more. That is why I think you
should vote me, Evan Kono, mayor of
Santa Clarita.
my city before my eyes.
I remember high school nine years
ago; recount budding racial tensions,
blackouts of hot summer days, rolling
hills and oak trees. Now, tensions have
grown, the sprawling blackouts engulf
the valley increasingly, and those
beautiful landscapes have been
demolished to make room for housing.
My present candidacy is the result of a
visit to the hill where I spent my
childhood. In place of my beloved hill
stands an industrial park, lacerating my
past paradise. Like my personal Eden,
the Santa Clarita Valley is becoming
another overcrowded urban center.
This flashes through my mind before
I reveal my plans of increased funding
to schools, working to discover a
reliable energy source, and preventing
unnecessary future construction. With a
deep breath I resume, “To begin
improving our community...”
Caitlyn Dortch
“‘We shall be as a city upon a hill; all
eyes shall be upon us.’ John Winthrop’s
wise words applied to his Puritan
followers, as they apply to society
today. I envision the city of Santa
Clarita as this model city, a shining
example which other communities
envy. However, if Santa Clarita is to
continue its path of excellence, some
faults must be remedied.” I pause to
reflect on my decision to run for mayor,
my reaction to the gradual degrading of
Holly Schroeder is chief executive officer
of the Building Industry Association –
Greater Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter.
Mitch Weber
Santa Clarita has been a fabulous city
to grow up in! With the voters’ consent,
I will work tirelessly to preserve the
high quality of life that the Santa
Clarita Valley has proudly been known
to offer for the past 30 years. With its
ideal location, low crime rate, wellplanned neighborhoods and excellent
schools, Santa Clarita remains a top
choice for residents and businesses
alike. Most of our valley’s growth is
occurring in areas outside the city, thus
it is imperative that we maintain an
open and productive relationship with
Los Angeles County officials to ensure
that our valley’s voice is heard. I will
focus on making sure that developers
See WRITERS, page 55
Preserving Our Valley’s Unique Character
N
o longer the sleepy suburb that
enticed many of us to set down
roots in the Santa Clarita Valley,
the city of Santa Clarita will continue
to grow. Ten years from now, with wise
planning, the city can retain its
reputation as a desirable place to live,
by carefully selecting the most valuable
aspects of both suburban and urban
living and creating a hybrid that
supports the unique character of our
valley. Following is my vision for 2017.
Traffic: Traffic will continue to be
an issue. Transportation needs will be
addressed through multiple approaches.
Even as new roads are built, we will
expand mass transit by adding more
buses and service hours and by adding
more Metrolink trains. We will work
toward the development of a magneticlevitation train system that will
efficiently move residents to work
locations outside of the Santa Clarita
Valley while we bring more jobs into
the valley. And we will make the city
more pedestrian-friendly, encouraging
residents to walk and bicycle, by
adding bicycle lanes and trails.
Air Quality: With the addition of
Writers
are being required to fund the road
infrastructure necessary to enhance the
existing deficit and support the new
development. In addition, I will
encourage mass transit by promoting
our local bus transit system and by
establishing additional park-and-ride
lots throughout the valley. I will work
with the city and county planning
departments to establish conditions
within the process for approving new
developments that foster a greater
picture approach that will garner
substantial contributions by developers
aimed at meeting the community’s park
and open space quality of life needs.
Amanda Guthrie
Jesse Jackson once stated, “Time is
neutral and does not change things. With
courage and initiative, leaders change
things.” As a future leader of the Santa
Clarita Valley in 2017, I, Amanda
Guthrie, will graciously act upon the
necessary tasks and duties this position
calls for. For example, I will keep the
parks safe and family-friendly for our
children and construct many more
pleasant green belts for everyone. As we
all know, congestion and traffic in the
Santa Clarita Valley has greatly
increased since the year 2007, and the
number of roads and avenues have not
kept up with the number of homes being
built. Although, through much
Diane
Trautman
Santa Clarita
Planning Commissioner
more buses that run on alternative fuels,
the creation of maglev transportation,
and future development that is
inclusionary, environment-friendly and
energy-efficient, we can make
improvements in our air quality. My
hope is that we will also succeed in
containing the Cemex mining project
and the pollution it would bring.
Cultural Arts and Downtown
Newhall: In 10 years, we will see the
blossoming of downtown Newhall and
the beginnings of a lively arts district in
that area. Substantial cleanup and
partial development of the WhittakerBermite site should also be on the
horizon. I envision an area that includes
an arts pavilion with concert halls and
art galleries, a convention center,
perhaps even a government center with
library and a landscaped courtyard, in
which people can relax and mingle.
Maybe another hospital will be built in
this core area or further to the east.
Open Space: To ensure the beauty of
our valley for future generations, we
will continue to purchase and preserve
undeveloped land, expanding the
greenbelt around our Valley. Residents
will enjoy hiking these areas, and the
connected wildlife corridor will give
refuge to many important species.
Additional trees planted throughout the
city will provide shade and help to
clean the air.
Parks: Planned active parks will be
completed and we’ll be planning new
parks and more activity centers that can
be accessed and enjoyed by both young
and old. With the extension of our city
boundaries through annexations, we
will all work together to make a greater
number and variety of recreational
programs available to everyone.
Housing and Economic
Development: Multi-generational
‘Today’s toddlers will be able to grow
up in a world learning and seeing that
industry and wealth are not the only
important things in life. Helping the
world today and taking action for
what we believe in will create a
brighter and happier tomorrow.’
— Maddy Simpson
commitment and time, we will see a
great change in this, for I will stop this
frustrating factor before it becomes an
even bigger problem. In the years to
come, we will promote and hold many
more donation and charity events to give
assistance to the less fortunate in our
beautiful community. We are all a part of
such a great society, with some of the
best schools and programs around, but I
strive to be the most loving and best
looked-upon community in the whole
state of California. Thank you.
Jeremy Kruger
Over the past decade, our community
of Santa Clarita has grown
significantly. We have seen times of
despair and anguish, but this valley
always seems to come out ahead of the
game. For instance, after the loss of a
major theme park as a supplier of jobs,
this valley was able to rebuild and
create a more sufficient economic
situation with the addition of more
housing and educational opportunities.
This great valley has a backbone that
cannot be broken by any period of
hardship. If elected, during my time as
mayor, I will give back to this
community, as it has given to me over
the past 28 years. My plans include a
project that this valley needs
desperately. The development of more
roads would make the working man’s
daily commute less stressful. This of
course would only be part of the
solution to making the area more
relaxing. As mayor, I would invest
housing and additional senior living
facilities will be planned. Workforce
housing will be part of future
development and redevelopment,
allowing our grown children and others
who work here, to live here, too. This
will also help to reduce our
transportation woes, locally and
regionally. A joint city-county effort
will be under way to create housing and
support options for those who fall
victim to abuse, the vicissitudes of the
economy, or aging.
Throughout this time, we will have
worked to maintain the serenity and
values of our older neighborhoods,
making measured improvements where
needed, but always mindful of the
quality of life the city was formed to
preserve. The city will have worked to
support businesses, schools and other
agencies, and non-profit organizations
in their efforts for the greater good.
Together we will continue to ensure the
peace, safety and prosperity of all
residents.
Diane Trautman is a member of the
Santa Clarita Planning Commission.
more time and money into the process
of selecting quality teachers that we can
be confident about as we drop off our
children at school. Continuing into the
future with the momentum we have had
over the past 10 years, I’m sure we will
reach the greatest heights.
Maddy Simpson
Looking back at the year 2007, all
members of the Santa Clarita Valley
were blissfully ignorant. The
community was full of corruption, yet
the common man was so caught up in
his own selfish life to even realize that
anything was wrong. The town was full
of blatant disregard for our
environment’s well-being and ability to
sustain itself. Today we have begun to
bring our capitalistic corruption of this
beautiful city to a peaceful end.
Considerably less pollution and litter
has been put into Santa Clarita’s
environment in the past 10 years due to
the extensive education of our youth.
Beautiful, serene pieces of nature have
no longer been viciously torn apart by
capitalism’s tractors to construct yet
another parking structure or apartment
building. If I am elected mayor, I will
do everything in my power to help the
city not only for the members of the
community today, but for our future
generations. Today’s toddlers will be
able to grow up in a world learning and
seeing that industry and wealth are not
the only important things in life.
Helping the world today and taking
action for what we believe in will
create a brighter and happier tomorrow.
56
The Story of Homo Cementus...
... or, a history of
growth in the
Santa Clarita
Valley.
U
nless it comes from an
enlightened point of view and
motivation, one man’s growth
can be another man’s
imposition.
From an historical point of view, our
Tataviam ancestors didn’t have much of a
problem getting a handle on growth. They
were nudists. No fashion fads to chase. No
keeping up with the Joneses. No 9-to-5.
They pretty much stayed at the same zen
level for centuries, living this Garden of
Eden existence amongst rivers that flowed
year-round and bountiful forests. Some
1,000 Amerindians lived in 22 villages
scattered throughout the valley floor, the
largest being Chaguiyibit (population,
500). Chaguiyibit is under the asphalt
about where the Southern California
Edison field office is in the Industrial
Center today.
It was blackly poetic that on Aug. 9,
1769, the Tataviam world was literally
rocked. On that date, a massive earthquake
shook this valley. It was the same day that
Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola, along
with Spanish padre, Juan Crespi,
“discovered” the Santa Clarita Valley. It
was Crespi who felt that what this place
needed was a little European growth. He
noted in his diary that Holy Mother
Catholic Church ought to build one of
those futuristic missions. The Spaniards
and the Tataviam had different viewpoints
on progress. The Spanish brought up the
question: “How about we take a crack at
building civilization here and use you as
slaves to do it?”
The Native Americans didn’t
particularly care for the process of rape,
starvation, beatings, torture, disease,
oppression and outright murder. As the
few Tataviam who were left started hiding
further and further away from the mission
and Newhall presidio, the Spanish
developed a rather canny method to attract
recalcitrant conscripts. They would find
the new outlying Indian villages and send
in soldiers. The soldiers would kidnap
every child in the village. The Indian
mothers would weepingly follow the
soldiers back to the fort/church and the
fathers would follow the wives.
For as barbarous as the Spaniards were
to the Tataviam, the Americans were
worse.
For the first two years of statehood,
1849-51, the No. 1 expense of the
fledgling California government was for
the eradication of Indians. Historians have
likened this movement to Nazi Germany
and the more recent “ethnic cleansing” of
John
Boston
Signal
Columnist
Bosnia/Herzogovania. Some $2 million
was spent those first two years for about
100 government-sponsored raids in which
15,000 Amerindian men, women and
children were executed. This is mentioned
for the local angle. Who was the head of
Indian Affairs for California during this
period? None other than our own local
hero — Gen. Edward Fitzgerald Beale of
Beale's Cut fame. The last of our
Tataviams — Juan Fustero — died in 1916
near Piru and with him, the 1,500-year
history of his people.
❑❑❑
From the local Native American point
of view, this growth thing wasn’t such a
hot idea. They were exterminated from
their Garden of Eden. For the Spanish,
growth worked.
For a season.
There is this amazing example of the
acceleration of change. Juan Cabrillo
“discovered” California in 1533. Some
236 years later, Portola “discovered” the
SCV. In those two- plus centuries, you
have virtually no measurable “growth”
here whatsoever. But from 1769 to
present, about 229 years, there has been
this dizzying, rocket-launch acceleration
of change that boggles the imagination.
When the Spaniards started settling this
area, which was around 1804, and the
Americans thereafter, they radically
changed forever the face of the valley.
During the l9th century, we saw hundreds
of square miles stripped of forests. There
were many reasons for this. Getting a
handle on growth in the l9th century
wasn’t really a concept locally. It seemed
as if Nature’s bounty was limitless. Forests
were leveled, plowed under and burned
not just to clear farmland and orchards, but
for building supplies and heating not just
the SCV, but a growing Los Angeles as
well. Mountains were literally washed
away by strip mining. Water tables shrunk
so drastically that tributaries which once
flowed bank to bank year round dried up.
Getting a handle on growth was not
even remotely a problem for the two
Californio dons — Antonio del Valle and
his son, Ignacio — who ruled this valley.
Gold rushes from 1842 (Placerita Canyon
was the site of the first major gold
discovery in the state) up until — actually,
1939 — helped slowly build this valley
into one of the country’s most significant
geographical locations. Great cattle drives
started, and passed through here. Cattle
prices went from a low of about $2 per in
the 1840s to a staggering $75 a head a few
years into the future.
So economically, growth was a
beautiful thing. Until cattle prices
plummeted to about 25 cents per steer.
That economic crash, coupled with the
vast population influxes and a triple punch
of a mid-century flood, drought and
earthquake, were the main reasons for the
decline and fall of the gente de razon, the
noble ruling class. But while their
predecessors, the Tataviam, were literally
obliterated by growth, the Californios
were merely assimilated into process.
The l9th century saw a basic rape, loot
and pillage approach to growth in the
SCV. Tens of thousands of miners, oil
men, lumberjacks and hunters basically
came in and used this area like a
Versateller machine — except instead of
making any deposits, they just kept taking
out withdrawals.
With the invention of The Newhall
Land and Farming Co. in 1853, you had
basically one central concern running the
show. Like them or not, had not the
uberdeveloper been around, the face, the
feel of this valley would have probably
been more like the ugly clusterconstruction-and-run of the neighboring
San Fernando Valley. As early as 1886,
NL&F investigated the possibility of the
“colonization” as they put it, of the SCV.
They designed plans for roads, water
ways, sewage, residential and business
centers.
On the other hand, they also sold about
10,000 acres of modern Newhall to the
governor of Kansas, John St. John and a
consortium of partners, one of whom was
a fellow by the name of Henry Clay
Needham. Needham was this area’s only
serious presidential candidate — under the
Prohibitionist Party.
Talk about this ‘Getting A Handle On
Growth” theme. Under Needham, owning
real estate had become your worst-case
anal retentive nightmare. Get this. In order
to buy land in this St. John Tract, you had
to sign a legally binding agreement that
stated if you or any family member were
caught imbibing alcohol, your land and
the house you built on it were subject to
forfeiture to the seller. Considering that
Newhall-Saugus was home to three times
as many saloons as churches, there wasn’t
much of a market for that kind of deal and
frankly, not even the strictest tea-totaller
was interested in that kind of fine print.
Soon, that part of the contract was stricken
from the Realtors’ boilerplate.
❑❑❑
Newhall was the epicenter of the Santa
Clarita Valley for most of the later l9th
and nearly all the 20th century. The 1900
census showed just 442 people living in
the entire valley — about half the
population from when the Tataviam ruled
its borders. Humorously, the few souls
here in 1900 were confident that the area
couldn’t handle any more population
influx due to a lack of water. The same
statements were made in 1914, 1924 and
actually, in every decade to present day. A
1998 story in your Mighty Signal quoted a
water executive as stating we need to
double our water supply soon or we can’t
grow anymore.
For the first 50 years of the 20th
century, people would laugh at you if you
asked them about managing SCV growth.
There just wasn’t that much.
The very first local telephone was
installed at Campton’s General Store on
old Main Street/Railroad Avenue in 1900.
The second phone wasn’t hooked up until
1913. We were the first rural community
in California to be hooked up to “direct
dialing.” The year before, Pacific Bell,
scared that the primitives in this area
couldn’t handle the concept, began a
campaign to educate Newhallians,
instructing them not to be afraid when
they heard something called, “...a dial
tone.”
By happenstance, good luck on our
parts or better politicking by people in
other towns, there were several events that
nearly happened — but didn’t — that
might have drastically affected the shape
and flavor of this valley.
A couple of decades after the railroad
came through in 1876, there was a move
afoot in Southern California politics to
make Saugus the main train shipping and
switching yard.
Plans were drawn up to make the old
Saugus train depot this massive epicenter
where all rails converged. The area would
have swallowed up several square miles
just in tracks. Plans were made to build a
mule yard to hold over 2,000 jackasses
(insert your own punchline if you will).
Wilmington and Santa Fe Springs got the
contract.
During the Depression, Newhall Land
tried to sell their entire holdings in this
valley — nearly 50,000 acres. Asking
price? Just $750,000 — about the cost of
one decent ranchette in Sand Canyon.
There were no takers. Had not a man
named Atholl McBean stepped in to run
NL&F, the story of growth would have
been entirely different here and some say
McBean may be the most influential
person in the 20th century history of this
region.
We used to have a small airport here,
right where Granary Square Shopping
Center is today. Kiddingly, it was called
Newhall International Airport because
from there, planes made one weekly mail
flight into Mexico. Before, during and
right after World War II, the California
Airport Commission recommended that
this tiny field be expanded to become Los
Angeles International Airport. It was
graded as THE perfect spot because
Burbank and Inglewood had a tendency to
get fogged in.
Somehow, LAX got swiped from under
our noses and moved 30 miles south.
Had the mega-airport been built here,
See BOSTON, page 57
The Rise and Fall of an Out-of-Control Growth Cycle
I
f we examine Santa Clarita as a living
organism, we might be able to
visualize the long-term effects of past
and present influences.
In the beginning, Santa Clarita, or
rather Newhall and Saugus, could barely
sustain themselves and their meager
inhabitants. They were dependent on the
people, riches and resources of
surrounding areas to survive.
People discovered the desirability of
the area and growth happened. The area
thrived slowly and community needs
were addressed. This was our valley in
the ’50s and ’60s. It was a healthy,
organic and sustainable kind of growth.
People invested long term in our area —
not expecting a pay-off for many years.
Metropolitan Los Angeles barely new
about our valley then. People who lived
out here lived in “the sticks,” or worse.
As Los Angeles grew, the need for
desirable and affordable housing grew as
well. Rather than upgrade and revive
deteriorating areas of the city, Angelinos
decided it was better to grow sideways.
That momentum to expand became a
style of population growth now referred
to as “urban sprawl.” That trend is the
main overriding force that controls the
future of Santa Clarita to this day.
Santa Clarita wasn’t the first area
surrounding Los Angeles to experience
rapid growth. In the ’60s I wondered why
Woodland Hills and then Thousand Oaks
Boston
you could certainly wave the
Capitalist Flag and shout, “Yay,
Growth!”
But what kind of growth?
Right after the big WWII,
there was a concerted effort by a
coalition of hog farmers and
bribed politicians to turn the
SCV into the garbage dump of
Los Angeles County. In the
1940s and ‘50s, before we
became the Disposable Society
and lived off plastics, most of our
trash was edible. There were a
series of movements to create
giant hog farms and 24-hour aday caravans of freight trains
delivering a never-ending
Sisyphusian tonnage of garbage
for the hogs to eat.
It was a businessman’s dream.
An Adam Smith Perpetual
Motion Machine. The
government pays you for the
privilege of supplying slop and
feed for your hundreds of
thousands of hogs. You get a big
tax break and other government
perks. Then, you get to sell part
Bruce
McFarland
Democratic
Alliance for
Action
seemed to be getting all the attention. I
was disappointed because they had all
the good stores. Little did I know then,
that everything goes in cycles and that
our time would come.
In the ’70s, The Newhall Land and
Farming Co.’s Valencia Co. and
American Beauty Homes built a lot of
houses for folks and it seemed the area
was thriving. At some non-specific point
in time, critical mass was reached and
builders couldn’t seem to keep up with
demand. Our valley became a
developer’s Las Vegas, where every time
they put a nickel in, it paid off big time.
More and more individuals and
organizations became aware of the
potential profits, and everyone wanted a
piece of the action. It seemed like every
bet paid off. Healthy organic growth
became cancerous.
In the ’80s local citizens felt the
process was getting out of control, so
of your hoggerage for bacon. A
huge VE epidemic, the
equivalent of porcine Hoof-andMouth disease, coupled with the
fact that schools had to be shut
down from Old Testament fly
infestations, and reports of
government bribery effectively
shut down the big hog farm
debacle and helped SCVians get
a handle on growth.
The 1950s saw all manner of
almost-growth. California
planned to build a huge 26-mile,
three-tiered tunnel, connecting
Castaic with the San Joaquin
Valley. On the bottom floor,
trains would race through, trucks
would be in the middle and cars
on top. Last I heard, they hadn’t
built it.
We were supposed to be home
to three different nuclear power
plants in the ‘50s and ‘60s. One
was scheduled to be built in San
Francisquito Canyon. San
‘cisquit was the site of the second
biggest manmade disaster in
American history.
A dam burst there 70 years ago
this month and sent a 200- foot
wall of water down the valley,
killing over 500 people. Thirty
years after that, before the days of
they decided to form their own city,
ostensibly to get a handle on growth.
Unfortunately, too many people had
become addicted to the payout. They
weren’t about to give up their cash cow.
It didn’t take them long to discover they
actually had more ability to grow by
controlling local city government. It was
easier, more profitable, and they could
control who could play.
Unfortunately, Santa Clarita city
government fell into the same boomtown mentality that is never sustainable
for the long term. Local government
thinks that growth is a requirement for
sustainability. I see that as the beginning
of a boom/bust cycle. That’s what killed
the stock market in 2000. Unsustainable
growth is where we are today — the
cancer is devouring everything.
As some point, there will be no more
land in the city to develop and all the
growth will take place outside the city
limits. Without strong-willed forward
thinking leaders at the helm, Santa
Clarita will end up being the “old mall.”
All the newest, prettiest and most
desirable houses and businesses will be
elsewhere. Santa Clarita just might
become a ghost town.
If you’re having trouble seeing the
picture, just take a look at downtown
Newhall, Lyons Avenue, South San
Fernando Road or Soledad Canyon Road.
The new money’s going into Center
Environmental Impact Reports, it
took just six weeks for the Atomic
Energy Commission to get an OK
to start building. Someone finally
pointed out that the site was
uncomfortably near the
intersection of four major
earthquake faults and that
radioactive wastes would stand a
good chance of doing the
backstroke all the way to the
Pacific if nuclear power plant went
bust. They decided not to build it.
❑❑❑
History is certainly circular.
Well. At least, so far. It is almost
comic to hear the tales retold,
from 1900. From 1914. From
1922-25 and up to the
Depression. From the late 1930s,
from after World War II and into
the ‘50s, ‘60s and butting right
up against the 2lst century. The
story is the same. The fathers and
mothers of Downtown Newhall
held meeting after meeting, hired
consultant after consultant and
poked holes in the ozone with
index fingers, crying that what
was needed was some
architectural master plan, some
unifying theme, some cohesion
to save the sorry hide of the
business district.
Point, West Valencia, North Saugus and
outside the city limits. It won’t take long
before all the current new development is
old and less desirable. Remember that
Kmart was a hot new store once.
At some time in the not too distant
future, local voters will realize that
mistakes were made and that we need to
have forward-thinking leaders capable of
sustaining our community. That’s when
voters will turn to Democrats to try and
save what’s left of Santa Clarita.
The big question is, how long will it
take people to realize that the thrill of
shiny new growth always predestines a
long period of sustained decline?
Anyone who wants to help build a
sustainable future for the Santa Clarita
Valley is invited to join the Democratic
Alliance for Action. I’m the president
and I welcome any questions or
comments. Feel free to give me a call at
(661) 297-1999. If you’re not currently a
registered Democrat, it’s real easy to
change, and you’ll be glad you did. We
have monthly meetings and other
activities throughout the month. We meet
on the fourth Thursday of the month at
Vincenzo’s Pizza (24504 1/2 Lyons
Avenue, Newhall). More information is
available at www.DAA.org.
Bruce McFarland is the president of
the Democratic Alliance for Action of
Santa Clarita.
All their hearts were in the
right place, but you wouldn’t
want to hire the Downtown
Newhall Merchants Association
for any short term contract
because they started having
meetings at the beginning of the
2Oth century about improving
that part of town and nearly 100
years later, they’re still arguing
the same questions.
❑❑❑
Right into the 20th century, we
used to have Grizzly bears here.
They were huge beasts, some of
them weighing over a ton. In
fact, pioneer John Lang shot a
2,350-pound monster that would
later be the model used for the
bear on the California flag.
Another bruin, the last recorded
Grizzly shot in Southern
California, was bagged way up
Sand Canyon. He was just a cub,
not even the size of a collie.
One of the curiosities of
progress is that as humans, we
tend to enter an area and
eradicate from it the very
suchness that attracted us to it in
the first place. Some romantic
part of us would love to live with
bears, mountain lions and things
wild, but from a deeper, darker
place, we’d rather see them dead.
We want open spaces, then, move
in and fill them. We love great
oaks, then cut them down for
firewood. Then, crazy us, we
weep in nostalgia over the loss
and write poetry of the way
things used to be.
That’s history, too.
This historical acceleration
curve — it is staggering. We’ve
gone from game hunters and
acorn eaters to creatures who can
fly to the moon. In the last 200
years, we’ve gone from a
community of peaceful nudists
where how fast you could get
from Point A to Point B was
measured simply in how fast you
could walk to the present, where
we’ve evolved into homo
cementus SClaritus.
From a historical viewpoint,
can you get “...a handle on
growth?” I’m not so sure. It’s like
being a caveman and saying
you’re going to get a handle on a
glacier. Bottom line, the thing’s
coming. And it changes the
landscape forever.
John Boston’s column appears
several times per week on page
A2 of The Signal.
58
Signal file photos
Above: The Santa Clarita Master Chorale hopes to expand its current group of just over 50 singers to 60 singers in the next 10 years. The Master Chorale
will perform its next concert at the College of the Canyons Performing Arts Center in June. Below: The Santa Clarita Symphony offers a variety of nontraditional events, including family concerts, monthly “Musical Petting Zoos,” Bon Appetit Dinners and traditional symphony concerts. The next concert
“Spring Spectacular” will be held April 7 at the College of the Canyons Performing Arts Center.
Ballet
forming Arts Center.
“This ballet is considered the great
comedy of ballet,” Glover said. “It is a
delightful work to be enjoyed by the
entire family.”
She said the academy is an official
Royal Academy of Dance Training
School, and she herself is highly pedigreed in the Royal Academy — in fact,
her aunt was a founding member of the
Royal Academy and her mother was the
regional organizer of Royal Academy
training in the San Francisco Bay Area
in the 1950s.
Glover said the mission of the ballet
company is to provide the youth of the
SCV with the opportunity to experience
the life of a professional dancer. She
said when they created the company
they organized the structure to recreate
that of a true ballet company, complete
with apprentices, corps de ballet,
soloists, and principals.
“Our mission has been to provide
local dance talent with the opportunity
to perform in professionally choreographed productions, as well as to perform alongside guest professional
dancers,” Glover said. “For the past 12
years our company has been extremely
successful in accomplishing these
goals.”
Canyon Theatre Guild
Now in its 36th year, the Canyon Theatre Guild is one of the oldest arts
organizations in the SCV. After years in
various locations around the SCV and a
long stint at the fringes of the SCV up
Sierra Highway, the CTG is now located
See THEATER, page 59
Putting a Spotlight on Theater Guild’s Long-Range Plan
T
he Canyon Theatre Guild recently
finished an exciting long-range
planning process. The first goal in
the three- to five-year planning was
recently completed with Phase II of our
downtown theater complex, which created
a beautiful intermission and special events
patio space.
Fundraising is currently under way to
build another building, behind the theater,
which would encompass a scene shop and
dance rehearsal studio. Once the new
rehearsal space is completed, the third
phase of the downtown theater complex
will be complete. Phase Four, the final
phase of the downtown theater complex,
will be the renovation of the current
rehearsal building into a 99-seat, possibly
Equity-waiver, theater performance space.
The five- to 10-year plan calls for the
building of a new space to house the
CTG’s new Regional Theatre season. The
Canyon Theatre Guild is producing one
show each year in its Regional Theatre
Season at the COC Performing Arts
Center. This upcoming summer’s
production will be Disney’s “Beauty and
the Beast,” the most lavish production in
the CTG’s history, with production costs
exceeding $100,000.
The near-term plan is to increase the
number of Regional Theatre pieces as the
Performing Arts Center calendar permits.
The long-range plan calls for the CTG to
use a public/private partnership to build an
amphitheater space in the Santa Clarita
Valley, which will seat 1,500-2,000 people.
The organization is in exploratory talks
with officials from the city of Santa Clarita
Theater
in the heart of Newhall and boasts a
281-seat theater.
The CTG regular season includes
works from Broadway musicals, comedies, dramas, Shakespeare and familythemed plays, said TimBen Boydston,
CTG executive director and artistic
director.
“We produce six full-scale productions in our regular season, three fullscale productions in our family season,
which is specifically targeted at young
people, and one large-scale Broadway
musical production in our regional theater season,” he said.
With the opening of the College of the
Canyons Performing Arts Center, the
CTG jumped right into staging productions of “The Wizard of Oz,” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” This summer the
CTG will offer Disney’s “Beauty and
the Beast” at the Performing Arts Center.
“It will be the most lavish production
in the CTG’s history, with production
TimBen
Boydston
Councilman
and the county of Los Angeles as to possible
sites for the amphitheater. The magnificent
weather in the SCV would be perfect for
evenings of Broadway musicals under the
stars. In addition, touring music acts and
other large-scale events would be booked.
The Canyon Theatre Guild’s growth
over a 36-year period has been steady and
deliberate and has been supported by
community members, local businesses, the
city of Santa Clarita and the county of Los
Angeles governments, as well as a number
of foundations. The success of the guild
can be attributed to its core values which
are: The pursuit of quality/excellence in all
we do; An emphasis on family; Education
– of both our audiences and our artists; To
value volunteers; To serve our community.
The Canyon Theatre Guild has always
strived to do popular theater that people
want to see. The majority of the
productions are “family-friendly” as the
majority of Santa Clarita is made up of
families. Whenever more adult pieces are
produced, the content is clearly advertised.
The CTG produces works from a variety of
genre including Broadway musicals,
costs exceeding $100,000,” Boydston
said. “The near-term plan is to increase
the number of regional theater pieces as
the PAC calendar permits.”
Boydston said the community theater
may delve into more diverse and adult
programming to reflect the growing and
more diverse population, but it depends
entirely on the future audiences’ tastes.
The CTG currently is producing one
show each year in its regional theater
season at the COC Performing Arts
Center and their five- to 10-year plan
calls for the building of a new space to
house the CTG’s new regional theater
season.
“When our smaller space comes on
line, then more ‘cutting edge’ artistic
pieces will be produced,” Boydston
said.
Boydston said the CTG has been able
to expand since moving to its current
home on San Fernando Road in
Newhall.
“We have been doing very well with
ticket sales and we will strive to continue with that as our main source of operating income,” said Ed Hill, president
of the CTG board. “We apply for and
receive government grants on a regular
comedies, dramas, Shakespeare, and
family theater. We produce six full-scale
productions in our regular season, three
full-scale productions in our family season,
which is specifically targeted at young
people, and one large-scale Broadway
musical production in our Regional
Theatre season.
The future programming of the guild
will reflect our future audiences’ tastes. A
more diverse population will result in more
diverse choices. When our smaller space
comes on line, then more “cutting edge”
artistic pieces will be produced. When our
regional Broadway series moves into the
amphitheater space, then our mid-sized
current theater will support our evergrowing subscription base, currently over
2,000 season ticket holders.
Another exciting development in the
future of the Canyon Theatre Guild will be
the expansion of our workshop program
into an accredited Performing Arts
Conservatory. Recent expansion of the
workshop programs has tripled the number
of students to nearly 400 per year. As our
new dance studio comes on line, we will
have facilities to expand our curriculum.
The Canyon Theatre Guild has always
believed that it is important to make live
theater affordable for the citizens of the
SCV and beyond. We feel this is a service
that we provide to students, families and
seniors. In order to keep the ticket prices
reasonable, and because of the extremely
high cost of an Equity contract for our midsized house, paying our artistic personnel
in the future would most likely be on a
stipend basis, if at all.
However, when we bring our smaller
performance space on line, we will have
the flexibility to have a 99-seat Equity
Waiver contract, similar to the REP theater.
This contract allows the organization to
pay a very nominal amount to Equity
actors and still allows the theater to use
volunteer artists in the same production. In
our amphitheater, it would be likely that we
would use a “three person Equity” type of
contract which gives you the flexibility,
once again, of paying Equity actors in the
show and still using volunteer artists.
The CTG has never believed that the
government should be its major funding
source for programming. Typically, less
than 5 percent of our annual revenues are
from government funding at all levels
combined. We are generously supported by
corporations, businesses, and individuals.
Eighty percent of our revenues are from
earned income. The CTG projects that it
will be a million-dollar organization within
two years. A major capital campaign will
be necessary to fund the construction of the
amphitheater.
The CTG has always been a theater “of
the people, by the people and for the
people.” The mission of the Canyon
Theatre Guild is to make the world a better
place by entertaining, educating,
enlightening and enriching our community
through quality live theater. This we have
done, are doing, and will continue to do.
The future is very bright.
basis also. We are operating at about
three quarters of a million dollars yearly. With the growth we have seen in the
last few years we will probably be over
a million annually within the next few
years.”
After Phase II of the CTG expansion
plan was completed last year, including
a patio and new parking lot, Boydston
said the CTG is raising the funds to
build another space behind the building
which would encompass a scene shop
and dance rehearsal studio.
“Once the new rehearsal space is
completed, the third phase of the downtown theater complex will be complete,”
he said. “Phase Four, the final phase of
the downtown theater complex, will be
the renovation of the current rehearsal
building into a 99-seat, possibly Equitywaiver, theater performance space.”
The CTG subscription base lists more
than 2,000 season ticket holders. Nearly
500 volunteers assist with CTG shows
throughout the year.
“Our focus is on the community,” Hill
said. “We will continue to entertain the
community with the community.”
Now in its fourth year, the ESCAPE
Children’s Theater is in rehearsal for
their newest production of “Peter Pan”
at the College of the Canyons Performing Arts Center opening in June. In the
future, ESCAPE expects to perform two
to three big shows every year with at
least 200 children in each production.
Each year, Elizabeth Burson and husband, Kyle, offer two- or four-week
workshops for children from first grade
to age 18. As the artistic director/pianist
and conductor, Elizabeth Burson wears
many different hats.
“We will be performing at the Performing Arts Center for the first time
this June, and we are really excited
because it has a great size stage, and the
three beautiful sets will fit perfectly,”
Elizabeth Burson said. “It is also a great
facility for flying purposes. We want
Peter to fly high and fast while he sings,
‘I’m flying,’ and the PAC will allow that
opportunity.”
Looking into the future Elizabeth
Burson said the group plans to expand
its repertoire of musicals.
“Our future shows will include ‘Oliver,’ ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicol-
ESCAPE Children’s Theater
TimBen Boydston is a member of the
Santa Clarita City Council and executive
director of the Canyon Theatre Guild.
See ESCAPE, page 60
60
Escape
or Dreamcoat,’ ‘High School
Musical,’ ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ and
‘Alice in Wonderland,’” she
said. Elizabeth Burson said that
with just an extra $10,000 per
year, in addition to the ticket
sales and fundraisers, their theater can thrive and grow.
“We are always looking for
additional funding and grants,
but everything just takes so
much time. We have applied for
three grants, and not had any
luck yet,” Burson said. “But I
will diligently continue to work
on that when time allows. We
will have our ‘Heart of
ESCAPE,’ which is many different families and/or companies that donate money every
year to help support our theater.”
Repertory East Playhouse
Always ahead of the theatrical curve, the Repertory East
Playhouse in Newhall is primed
to directly benefit from the
growing interest and support of
performing arts throughout the
SCV. According to Artistic
Director Ovington Michael
Owston, the REP’s collective
vision is to operate a worldclass facility offering a wealth
of professional productions for
a reasonable ticket price to a
regional audience, while providing equitable compensation
for artists.
According to Owston, their
10-year estimates are based on
three factors: The maturity of
the Newhall Arts District as an
entertainment destination (the
city’s vision), the expansion of
local businesses in the district
and the growth of the REP’s
artistic product (their vision).
“As a result of these three
factors, we expect our audiences to quadruple and our revenue to triple by 2017. Our
grant development program is
relatively young, as the REP
only received its federal nonprofit status in December
2006,” Owston said. “Even so,
the city has championed our
first grant. By 2011, we expect
this portion of our funding to
expand tenfold and reach from
private foundations to the
National Endowment for the
Arts.”
He said in order to accomplish their goal, they need to
find new ways to understand
and penetrate into the community “to articulate our vision on
and off the stage, to deepen our
Signal file photo
The SCV Theatre Project hosted “An Evening with Stephen Schwartz” at the College of the Canyons Performing Arts Center to introduce the SCV to the group, which plans to bring professional regional theatre to the SCV. Stephen Schwartz
(second from right) is the composer of the Broadway hit musical “Wicked” which is playing the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood for an extended run. Schwartz is also the composer of the musicals “Pippin” and “Godspell.”
connections with audiences and
grow the new ones.”
Over the next five years, he
hopes to enlarge the REP’s
repertoire of inventive plays
and continue to train its company of artists by launching the
Playwrights’ Initiative. He said
the program is designed to
extract the talent of local writers and develop it in workshops
with the actors’ repertory work.
“The initiative begins this
spring with the Page to Stage
Playwright’s
Competition,”
Owston said. “The future of
theater in the Santa Clarita Valley lies in the city’s ability to
attract outside investment to the
Newhall Arts District, to cultivate local businesses, and nurture quality programming in all
artistic disciplines.”
The SCV Theatre Project
Mark Salyer and Andrea
Slominski have a dream. In
addition to both being professional theater directors, they
teach and direct theater at College of the Canyons, and one
day, they looked across the
campus at the brand new Per-
forming Arts Center and felt it
could use a dose of professional regional theater and Broadway musicals.
Thus inspired, they put
together a business plan and
embarked on a whirlwind of
high-profile
fundraisers
throughout the SCV in the past
few months, including a razzledazzle evening with Stephen
Schwartz (“Wicked,” “Pippin”) Oct. 22 at the Performing
Arts Center. With additional
support from the COC Board of
Trustees, they intend to see
their dream become reality with
a show on stage this fall. Their
main vision is to develop a
regional theater company in the
SCV offering Broadway-caliber productions at affordable
prices and to hire actors, directors and designers from New
York and Los Angeles, as well
as offer opportunities to local
theater professionals.
“We also want to develop
educational and professional
training programs offering
classes, workshops and internships and create a New Works
Initiative — an exciting and
nurturing environment for the
development of new plays and
musicals,” Slominski said.
“I can’t tell you how encouraged we’ve been with the unbelievable support from this community, both individuals and
the businesses,” said Salyer.
Their plan is to mount two to
three professional musical productions at the Performing Arts
Center or any other professional venue that might exist by
2017.
“In 10 years, we hope to be a
part of a thriving arts community here in the SCV,” Salyer
said. “We will have had 10
great seasons behind us in the
PAC and will have helped the
SCV be the birthplace of many
new plays and musicals.”
By then, Salyer hopes to
have a national reputation as a
quality regional theater company in the Southland.
“Our professional internship
program will have provided
hundreds of theater students
and pre-professionals with
opportunities to perfect their
craft,” he said. “We (will) offer
educational outreach into the
schools in our community and
offer dozens of master classes.
Our hope for 2017 is more for
Santa Clarita itself, to become
a cultural destination, with a
world-class symphony, Master
Chorale, ballet and professional
theater. We believe this community is destined to be a place
where the arts are an important
part of everyone’s life. I think
we are well on our way to seeing this vision become a reality
and, as one of Santa Clarita’s
newest arts organizations, we’ll
be celebrating our 10th
anniversary.”
Santa
Clarita
Artists’
Association
With its Newhall art gallery
on 8th Street, the Santa Clarita
Artists’ Association stands
alone as one of the only groups
promoting fine and visual arts
in the SCV. Members include
many highly regarded professional artists, sculptors and
photographers. In addition to
their gallery, SCAA artists regularly display their works
throughout the SCV. Their
See ARTISTS, page 61
Signal file photo
Jarod Scott and Jill Kocalis appear in “The Last 5 Years” on stage at the Repertory East Playhouse through April 17.
Artists
annual black-tie event, the “Art
Classic,” is one of the community’s most popular fundraisers.
“Even though we have been
around since 1989, I would say
we haven’t promoted ourselves
until just the past few years,”
said artist and photographer
Sandy Fisher, president of the
SCAA.
A member since 2005, Fisher
said it is important for the association to reach out and become
more involved in the community.
“Artists, by virtue of their
personalities, don’t tend to be
those kinds of people,” she
said. “I would say that our
members have not been politically active. They prefer to be
in their studio working quietly
away. But there is tremendous
room for growth in the SCV,
because the visual arts are pretty much underserved.”
Their mission statement is to
promote the visual arts within
the SCV and encourage members to develop their artistic talents. Fisher said the group
opened a tiny gallery before the
Newell redevelopment plan
passed and hope they will
become a major player in the
new arts scene.
“In 10 years we would love
to be in a cultural and visual
arts center,” Fisher said. “That
is what I would love to have, a
facility available for exhibits,
art lectures, workshops, classes
for children and adults, incorporated with performing arts
venues as well.” Additionally,
Fisher said they want to partner
with private and corporate
sponsors for community arts
education.
Santa Clarita Valley Film
Festival
Ramon Hamilton and Jennifer Fischer moved to Valencia
from Boston in 2005. While
they loved the weather, the nice
folks in the community and the
peace and quiet, they felt something was missing: a local film
festival. With funding from the
city of Santa Clarita through its
community service grants, they
started an independent film festival and are well-positioned to
become a permanent part of the
arts and culture landscape.
“The SCV Film Festival is a
non-profit organization dedicated to providing a truly open
forum for independent filmmakers, promoting diversity
and creating a community in
the SCV that supports multicultural filmmaking,” said
Ramon Hamilton, president of
the SCV Film Festival.
“We are very excited about
the growth we’ve been experiencing,” he said. “Submissions
for our annual festival more
than doubled from our first to
second year, and we are excited
about our third annual event
this November.”
Beyond the annual festival,
Hamilton said they have been
hosting monthly film screening
events and recently opened the
SCV Film Center, which offers
after-school film and video
workshops for youths ages 814.
“Classes are three hours per
day, two to three days per week
and provide students with an
opportunity to make their own
film — from writing to editing
and everything in between,”
Hamilton said. “We have partnered with Theater Arts for
Children in solidifying the
space for the SCV Film Center,
which is located at 24623 Wal-
nut Street in Newhall.”
He said their long-term goal
10 years down the road is for
the SCV Film Center to transform into a Film Institute, similar to the American Film Institute or the New York Film
Academy.
“With so much filmmaking
already going on in the Santa
Clarita Valley and with so
many professionals already living and working here, we see a
film institute here as a natural
part of the community,” Hamilton said. “With state-of-the-art
equipment and facilities, it will
be an institute that promotes
independent filmmaking at the
highest level and prepares individuals for professional jobs in
the film industry, while still
providing opportunities for
youth, senior citizens and others.”
Santa Clarita Symphony
In November 2004, the Santa
Clarita Symphony presented its
first Masterpiece series concert
at the College of the Canyons
Performing Arts Center. By
2006, the symphony had presented more than 20 events to
more than 3,000 people.
“The mission of the Santa
Clarita Symphony is to present
professional symphony orchestra concerts and their highquality
musical
events;
strengthen music education in
area schools; and enrich the
culture and quality of life in our
community,” said John Dow,
marketing director for the symphony.
He felt the symphony is well
on its way to achieving its
vision. In addition to concerts
held at the COC Performing
Arts Center, the symphony
reaches out to the SCV with a
variety of unique events. The
“Instrument Petting Zoo,” is a
monthly event in which a member of the orchestra allows children to get up close and personal with an instrument. The symphony also hosts “Bon Appétit
Series” dinners, which combine
a mix of world-class music,
gourmet food and fine wines.
Additionally, Dow said, they
want to build a broader arts
community through collaborations with Santa Clarita performing and visual artists
“We want to incorporate and
collaborate with other Santa
Clarita Arts organizations to
create unique, innovative programming that exposes the
Santa Clarita Valley community to the diverse talents of the
broader arts community,” he
said. “This will enable the community to better know the local
artists, experience truly unique,
innovative performances, as
well as provide their artists an
opportunity to work with professional musicians and orchestra.”
Dow said the 10-year vision
of the Santa Clarita Symphony
is to become a nationally recognized orchestra. He feels the
keys to achieving this vision
are through developing unique
Santa Clarita-based programs
and products with regional and
national appeal, including “The
Santa Clarita Music Festival”
hosted by the symphony.
“Similar to the Ojai Music
Festival and the Playboy Jazz
Festival, world-class artists and
composers will work together
creating a cross-cultural musical horizon,” Dow said. “The
focus will be on new concert
experiences combined with
standard literature from the
past. This would include inviting students from around the
world to participate.”
Dow also outlined plans for
new programs, including First
Editions Recordings of American Music, to commission,
record and premiere 21st centuSee SYMPHONY, page 62
62
The Santa Clarita Ballet Company offers two performances a year, including an annual production of “The Nutcracker Ballet.”
Symphony
ry music by living composers. Other
programs include creation of an expanded educational outreach including master classes and ensembles in area
schools by symphony performers;
developing California standards-based
curriculum to enhance local music education and performances by symphony
chamber ensembles in schools.
Dow also said they want to start a
concert competition for young artists
that may lead to solo performances
with the symphony by the winners.
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale has
many plans and goals for the next 10
years, primarily to increase their audience, which would require additional
performances of their three concerts per
year. They perform in the College of the
Canyons Performing Arts Center and
“The people of Santa Clarita have
shown great appreciation and
interest in the arts... With this
kind of reception and support, we
anticipate a bright future.”
— Sherry Klahs
Master Chorale chairwoman
would hope to fill the center twice for
each concert.
Previously, the chorale performed for
the city of Santa Clarita Concerts in the
Park series and would like to perform in
a similar series if the city amphitheater
becomes a reality.
“Our current budget is just a bit shy of
$100,000 and we would see that increasing to somewhere in the $150,000$200,000 range in this time period,” said
Master Chorale chairwoman Sherry
Klahs. “In order to meet future budget
expectations, we would continue to produce our Midwinter Madrigal Feast and
our Friends of the Santa Clarita Master
Chorale fundraisers.”
Klahs said the chorale is scheduled
for a European Tour in June 2008 and
will plan their tours in the future.
“We would foresee performances in
venues outside of the Santa Clarita Valley such as the Ford Amphitheater, to
broaden our exposure and gain recognition in the greater Los Angeles area,”
she said.
Under the artistic direction of conductor Allan Robert Petker, Klahs said
they will eventually increase the size of
the chorale to 60 singers and continue to
raise the standards for acceptance.
Currently, the chorale has a 5th grade
program and plans to expand the program to include 4th and 6th grade modules and increase the number of schools
served by this program.
“The people of Santa Clarita have
shown great appreciation and interest in
the arts and supported the Santa Clarita
Master Chorale since its inception,”
Klahs said. “With this kind of reception
and support, we anticipate a bright
future.”
64

`10 Years From Now`

Transcription

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