An approved Sand Canyon development project that has been held up in a legal battle since 2011 has overcome what may be its last major hurdle.
Vista Canyon Ranch, straddling the Santa Clara River southeast of the 14 Freeway, will include 1,100 homes, nearly 1 million square feet of office and retail space and four miles of trails. Plans also call for a new, on-site Metrolink station to replace the current Via Princessa Metrolink platform.
A lower-court ruling was set aside Dec. 18, clearing the way for the project, said Jim Backer, president of JSB Development.
The Santa Clarita City Council unanimously approved the project in May 2011, and the property was annexed into the city in September 2012.
Three groups filed suit to block the development: Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment, Friends of the Santa Clara River and Homeowners of Neighborhood Preservation.
The 185-acre site is owned by the developer, except for 43 acres along the Santa Clara River corridor which are owned by the city of Santa Clarita, according to court documents.
SCOPE sued the city in an effort to overturn the council’s certification of the environmental documents and ultimate approval. A trial court judge granted the writ petition finding that the EIR inadequately incorporated documents by reference as required by the guidelines and inadequately analyzed the project’s potential effect on the river, court papers show. The trial court rejected SCOPE’s other challenges to the EIR.
The appeals court reversed that decision Dec.18.
The 3-1/2 year battle seems to be over, Backer said.
“We’re very pleased that the project will continue,” he said. ““The project will create about 5,000 jobs.’
Groundbreaking for the project is expected in spring of 2015.
A request for a statement from SCOPE President Lynne Plambeck was not immediately returned.
[Download the Vista Canyon Ranch Draft Specific Plan]
The Faces Behind the Project (from JSBDEV.com)
The principals on the Vista Canyon Ranch property, from left: Backer, Valenzaino, Adamick. Photo: jsbdev.com
JAMES BACKER
James “Jim” Backer has twenty-five years of experience in commercial real estate. As an executive with Newhall Land, the developer of Valencia, he gained significant experience in office, mixed-use and commercial/industrial development along with comprehensive land planning. He played a major role in the planning and development of the Valencia Commerce Center and Town Center Drive.
After leaving Newhall Land, Jim served as the developer of a 670-acre business park in West Sacramento and the 240-acre Centre Pointe Business Park, the first significant employment center outside of Valencia to serve the Santa Clarita Valley.
Since starting JSB Development in 2000, Jim has developed 43 buildings totaling 1.1 million square feet including larger office complexes such as the six-building, 165,000 square foot Tourney Place and the 7.4-acre River Court Business Park, currently under development in Valencia.
Jim is founding and current President of the non-profit SCV Education Foundation, dedicated to improving public education in the Santa Clarita Valley. He also sits on the Board of the Foundation for Children’s Dental Health, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing dental care to children of low-income working families. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Jim graduated from Stanford University with degree in History and earned his MBA from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. He and wife Susan reside in Santa Clarita with their three children.
STEPHEN VALENZIANO
Stephen “Steve” Valenziano has over 30 years of diverse experience in the real estate industry in brokerage, consulting and development. His distinguished career includes the design and implementation of innovative organizational models, strategies and tools to align corporate goals, operations and financial objectives. He has consulted for many major companies including Disney, United Healthcare, Capital One, and The Boeing Company.
Prior to joining JSB Development, Steve served as Managing Director for Jones Lange LaSalle, an international real estate services firm, within that company’s Strategic Consulting group. A prominent figure in California’s commercial real estate industry, his career includes executive positions with Grubb & Ellis, Langdon Reider and Knight Frank Faulkner Baillieu.
Steve was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Villanova University. He is an author and speaker on a variety of organizational, planning and corporate real estate issues. He lives in Santa Clarita with his family.
GLENN ADAMICK – Partner, Vista Canyon
Glenn Adamick has 20 years of planning and development experience. He started his career with the City of Santa Clarita in the Community Development Department processing large residential, commercial and industrial development projects and later advanced to the City Manager’s Department ( Economic Development Division) where he was the point person on the creation of the Downtown Newhall Redevelopment Project Area and other economic development projects.
In 1999, Glenn accepted a position as Vice President with national homebuilder Beazer Homes and was responsible for land acquisition and forward planning for projects north of downtown Los Angeles. He joined The Newhall Land and Farming Company in late 2000. As Vice President, Forward Planning and Entitlements, Glenn was charged with completing entitlements for remaining residential and commercial/industrial projects within the Valencia Master Plan including Valencia Commerce Center, WestCreek, RiverVillage, and Soledad Village. He also had lead entitlement responsibility for the implementation of the approved Newhall Ranch Specific Plan.
Glenn is Vice President of the Foundation for Children’s Dental Health, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing dental care to children of low-income working families. He grew up in Santa Clarita, California and graduated from California State University Northridge with a degree in Urban Studies/Urban Planning. He and wife Jennifer have two sons and live in Santa Clarita.
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106 Comments
Awesome, more traffic on the 14.
Just what we need MORE people in the SCV. Every try going anywhere on a Saturday afternoon?
For those of us who live in Canyon Country/Sand Canyon, having a centralized town center with dining, recreation, and retail would eliminate the need to drive to Valencia every day, which would actually reduce traffic.
Not to offend anyone, but I know a lot of people who live in CC as well as Sand Canyon who still insist on driving to valencia just to go to target and Walmart as well as the mall.
CC/Sand Canyon residents still drive to the mall in Valencia because there is currently no pedestrian-friendly town center in Canyon Country where families can dine, shop, and stroll. There are just scattered strip malls and parking lots.
That’s what this development addresses, it allows CC residents to dine and shop locally in their own pedestrian-friendly town center, while avoiding the drive to Valencia altogether.
We were reluctantly considering moving to Stevenson Ranch from Sand Canyon just to avoid the drive to Valencia every time we want to grab a bite, catch a movie, or walk around.
Now we won’t have to move, as we’ll have no need to drive to Valencia anymore.
And honestly, I don’t know anyone in my neighborhood who prefers the aging, cramped Valencia Target to the big new one nearby on Golden Valley.
The only reason we’d drive to the one in Valencia is if we intended to grab a bite in that area afterwards, which again, this new development addresses.
Helena Dantas Munoz check this out
Oh no, please no more building in Santa Clarita, we have enough traffic here, what about the water to support this, we’re still in a drought, oh and more people means more crime as well.
If you really want to reduce SCV traffic, you need to eliminate the daily need for the tens of thousands of Canyon Country residents to drive to Valencia every time they need to go to Trader Joes, Town Center, shopping, dining, etc..
That’s what causes cross-valley traffic congestion.
By creating a self-contained, centralized Canyon Country town center, this development specifically addresses that problem.
businesses being built is good, more homes is not. Most of those people will end up on the freeway commuting somewhere. I’m talking to/from work traffic, not people going to the movies or dinner..
Exactly! The new Target center isn’t full… It’s ridiculous.
I’m for more businesses
Yay! We need more high quality commercial and retail spaces in Canyon country!
Straddling
WTF!
The article, it said straddling
yes, straddling, what’s your question? The property extends across the river.
We cant fill the ones we have!
Alesha, we can’t fill the ones we have because they’re poorly planned, isolated strip malls scattered all over Canyon Country.
Since they’re not part of a centralized town center and have no recreational value, people have no reason to frequent them, and the businesses that set up shop there struggle without any pedestrian traffic and eventually close.
This development addresses that problem by combining business/retail space with pedestrian-friendly dining, services, and recreation in one centralized destination with its own infrastructure and public transit. It is a true mixed-use development vs just another inhospitable strip mall/parking lot, and therein lies the major difference.
A master-planned town center vs random unsustainable sprawl.
We should try adding another street that goes from end of town to the other or widening the 14 before we add more people and homes
This is an awesome response. Go Curtis!
hahah glad some people saw this! ;)
” We should try adding another street that goes from end of town to the other or widening the 14 before we add more people and homes ”
The city is waiting for the cleaning completion of the Whittaker-Bermite property; before they can build more significant roadways. The roadways master plan is part of the circulation element, which is available online.
11,000 more cars
That’s disgusting. This is the kind of bs that happens when everyone making decisions lives in the million dollar ranches away from the real world.
I’m all for it. Canyon Country needs a higher-end centralized town center with better local dining, recreation, and services.
Hopefully also (as rumored) a Trader Joe’s.
Eliminating our daily need to drive to Valencia for said services will actually substantially ease local traffic congestion and increase property values for those of us in the CC/Sand Canyon area.
Not to mention, the master plan includes its own Metrolink station. More access to public transportation also eases traffic.
Trader Joes is not high end though
Guess again. I have not seen one thing out here aleviate the traffic. Only increase it. Even adding more lanes is usually a temporary fix. I’m not against CC getting better stores but as someone else stated many people will still go to Valencia or even Northridge or Glendale to do their shopping. Very sad, our close knt friendly valley is fading away.
Awesome! We need better stores. Let’s get a Trader Joes and a Cheesecake Factory out here. The only thing good out here now is the Costco.
It’s not just stores, Melanie. The master plan for the new development includes recreation, dining, office/business space, schools, public transportation, etc.
Would you rather the 5,000 new employees of the soon-to-arrive Golden Oak Disney Studios commute to and from Valencia every day?
Don’t you see how THAT would create far more traffic, vs those new employees being able to live, shop, and dine nearby in Canyon Country?
It’s simple urban planning. More local services reduces the need for driving, period.
I don’t need to “guess again”, my degree is in Architecture and Urban Design, and I worked in sustainable urban planning for years.
Nice, cram another 100,000 people in the valley. Good luck in the next earthquake.
What a disaster, where are the infrastructures to support this mega build? Water? Schools? Traffic nightmare!
Schools are included in the master plan, along with a dedicated Metrolink station.
So they expect everyone living their to go everywhere using Metrolink? Keep dreaming! Merry Christmas
Barb, the point is that those living there would have a local town center that would provide dining, retail, services and recreation, eliminating most of CC residents’ current need to travel to Valencia for said services, thereby easing cross-valley traffic considerably.
I’m not dreaming, it’s basic urban planning, I’m a licensed architect with a specialty in sustainable urban design.
So build the town center and scrap the homes! Who in the heck needs that many more cars on the 14 and 5 freeways for commuting. If the Metrolink was such an awesome solution, the 14 freeway wouldn’t be the mess it was.
Totally agree Teresa
I moved to scv in 1984, it was awesome. It build up some, which was needed, shopping centers etc. 1992 was perfect! Then it went to hell and turned into the San Fernando Valley! We moved and found a town just like it, back in the early days. I wish more towns would keep open spaces and not have homes on top of each other. I hated no backyards, and seeing into your neighbors windows.
22, 000 more cars to an already bottle necked frwy.. Not to mention that Cemex is now going to begin their mining contract that failed to be bought out- so many more SEMI TRUCKS will be traveling that route.. With more rock and gravel flying through the air.. And those guys are dangerous!
I’m just spit balling here, but I think traffic will be favorable impacted since CC residents will not need to travel to Valencia all the time for certain services as they’ll have their own in this quaint little city street they’re going to build.
Finally, somebody gets it. Yes, you are correct. The majority of cross-valley SCV traffic is caused by the tens of thousands of CC residents who have to drive to Valencia every day to access town center shopping, dining, recreation, services, Trader Joe’s, etc.
This development greatly reduces that problem.
Urbanism 101.
But will it? That’s what the target/lowes center was supposed to accomplish, yet it is a ghost town up there most days. Who’s to say this won’t be the same?
I’m def not saying I’m against it. In theory it seems like a great plan, but it would be sad to see it built and have it sit unused like many of the newly built centers.
Oh yes, because it’s only Canyon Country residents who frequent the elite Valencia shops, roads etc. Believe me, the less I have to travel over to the privileged Valencia the better.
Nico Vilgiate
anyone?Does anyone know when they are going to break ground on the new stages at Disney Ranch
Claudia Haddad
@sasha
@sasharicci
.
More jobs! Yea
How about those Dodgers
Fabulous – just what we need – more traffic on the freeway, as traffic is not nearly horrible enough! Obviously the people that keep approving these projects do not need to commute.
Janet Villarmia Dennis McNeal Carry Baker Brentner
I hope it actually looks that nice. Reminds me a bit of the Valencia Town Center.
Yes! Great news for Canyon Country. Happy to hear it’s moving forward
Let’s see what the 500 year flood looks like from the say – 3rd floor?
Dustin Grieve
Haha I thought I left the San Fernando valley because of this over crowding. We’ll I guess it followed me.!.!.!.
Beauty in Scv
Stop building. Leave the valley people in the valley.
Marc, Disney Ranch is not happening, although you keep seeing press releases that it is. It is a dead subject at the studio. Supposedly the reason is the producers and directors from the west side expressed no interest in making the commute out to SCV.
Whoopie! More people, more traffic. We don;t need it!! The days of getting from one end of this valley to the other in 5 to 10 minutes (20min if you crossed the 2 main intersections during morning or evening work traffic) are over. It;s turning into what most moved here to get away from.
Im not retiring here. The ridiculous over growth is oppressive.
Super more fing people
The over crowed valley with more traffic awesome
This makes me nervous….I live right across the wash…where are they getting the water from? I am on the fence for sure.
SCV needs more businesses and less homes. Anyone driving out of SCV for work will agree.
We have a perfectly good train system in Santa Clarita …as well as bus connections…save your car and take metrolink…
And walk to your work from the station in July. Great idea.
Ever been to New York or Chicago in July? It is MUCH worse AND humid. Yet they take the subway and the L to work!
Metrolink is awesome and stress free easy to get to work.
Not happy!!
Daisy Santiago Shane Santiago
Yay…just what we need …more people and more traffic!
Put another golf course in scv
Tim Waschak
Jessica Johnson
Yayyyyy
Yayyyyy
Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on your way out
Jim Backer- I’d be interested in maybe a 2nd location of JDavids Custom Clothiers and a full-service Tailor Shop in Sand Canyon. Be in touch
Jim Backer- I’d be interested in maybe a 2nd location of JDavids Custom Clothiers and a full-service Tailor Shop in Sand Canyon. Be in touch
Brian McDermott
Look at the Business potential !!
Doesn’t bother me. I pretend the city ends when Soledad begins anyways. Nothing out there that needs visiting
Rude
So much for forming a city and keeping it rural. You don’t think that area is crowded enough already?
Looks like Victoria Gardens
Yay!
This is very upsetting to me, we left the Valley for this reason. MORE PEOPLE MORE TRAFFIC MORE CRIME
This is great! We need a little diversity across the Santa Clartia/ Canyon Country area. Additional retail and living spaces that allow for progress is always good. Now if we could just get a Costco off the 126 in Castaic we would be a little better equipped to provide additional resources and better spread out the traffic. Can’t wait to see the progress.. Congratulations on the move forward.
Wow not good. … I’ve lived here for over 44 yrs. … I’ve seen all the changes. … I want to know where does all the animals go… SCV keeps building. … This is not what i sign up…. I didn’t like when Newhall Landing sold out… was not happy n knew it wasn’t good. … Just not Happy. …
Thought we had a major traffic and drought problem amazing how that seems to all just disappeared
It’s called progress. I’m sure people were complaining when they built the planned community of Valencia back in the late 60’s . Then magic mountain – and so on.
Cedric Williamson Cathy S-d see stay it’s gonna be right next to us :)
You have to know that every impact study was done on this project, so either the city doesn’t care that it would negatively impact our traffic and water, or it just won’t. I don’t understand why everyone is so negative when there are some positive things coming with this planned development. Things such as: A new Metro Link station and the creation of 5,000, as in FIVE THOUSAND, new jobs! Hmmmm maybe Valencia people will be traveling to CC and the imaginary line they never cross (where Soledad Canyon begins like one person mentioned) will become blurred and we’ll all be called awesome town.
The impact on the 14 Frey in the morning and Sierra hwy is going to be gridlock!! It is already slow now. I live below it and I can hear the traffic and now I smell it and I have black exhaust on my outside furn. That will get worse too
No no no bueno!!! :(
And here I thought we had a water issue. Hell lets add more homes, does that mean more roads and more lanes on the already crowed freeway?
Community is designed as a live/work space with many of the units being occupied by the same people who run the shops/ offices below or at least work there….
I am not in favor
My comment would have been that I regret that neither the Second Appellate Court nor the City will protect our community or the Santa Clara River. The Appelate Court ruled for Newhall Ranch recently – (the case is now at the CA Supreme Court), and they have now ruled for this 1050 unit project – more houses in a drought, built in the flood plain over prime groundwater recharge areas. The upper River in the project area had three water supply wells go dry this summer. Both trial Court Judges saw these projects and their affect on the Santa Clara River as big problems that were not properly disclosed in the environmental review process, and ruled in our favor. What is the City and the Appellate Court thinking? They are certainly not thinking about existing residents.
And when the project is sold to the state so that the high speed rail, now slated to go right through the middle it, of course the public will pay the entitled price – great profit for the developer at taxpayer’s expense.
When we were first married we went swimming at Soledad Sands swimming hole. I think it was in that area.
Oh no that’s a very bad idea
I think they should build this development all the way east through Soledad Canyon until it butts up against the Cemex gravel mining property.
That way, when our precious, yuppie, amenity-lovers who move into Vista Canyon Ranch are breathing the dust, sitting stuck behind the double trailer, bottom-dump trucks hauling aggregate for construction all over Southern California say “Ooh, Ick!”, they can complain to the SCV City Council about the terrible conditions in their neighborhood/compound.
Ignorance is bliss until it dumps in your front yard.
And yes, that last is not what I really wanted to say.
when i hear jim backer’s name i can only think of the old school house he tore down (just off lyons near jimmy dean’s) without telling the city or any historical association. development is not a bad thing, but when it’s essentialy done under cover of darkness, that’s the worst and is very irresponsible to the community.
Regarding “telling the city,” the removal of the schoolhouse was done with the approval of the city’s senior planning staff.