The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is poised to approve the necessary property tax-transfer documents Tuesday to effect the city of Santa Clarita’s annexation of the 2,473-acre “North Copperhill” area.

The proposed annexation area covers the neighborhoods between San Francisquito and Bouquet Canyon roads, north of the current city limits and south of the Angeles National Forest boundary.

Tuesday’s action includes authorization for the county to transfer three local parks to the city, “so that the city can assume ownership and become responsible for the operation and maintenance” of the parks, according to a county staff report.

With the supervisors’ consent, the county would quitclaim David March Park (Plum Canyon Road at Via Joyce), Pacific Crest Park (Garnet Canyon Drive near Cypress Place) and Copper Hill Park (Copper Hill and Brookview Terrace) to the city.

Deputy David March, E.O.W. 4-29-2002

David March Park was named for a 33-year-old deputy sheriff who was gunned down in the line of duty April 29, 2002, by an undocumented alien from Mexico during an otherwise routine traffic stop in Irwindale. The gunman fled to Mexico; after protracted legal wrangling with the Mexican government, he was returned to California where he is serving a life sentence. David March was a Canyon High School graduate who lived in Saugus.

According to county documents, the county spent $225,662 during the 2010-11 fiscal year to operate and maintain the  three parks. The transfer comes with the stipulations that the city must continue to use the park property for “open space, public recreation and park purposes only,” and the city can’t “discriminate against” unincorporated county residents by charging them higher fees for participation in city parks and recreation programs – a bone of contention between the city and county in years past.

The city would also have to honor a joint use agreement with the Saugus Union School District for Pacific Crest Park.