SCVNews.com | Opinion/Commentary: Ken Striplin | Santa Clarita Turns 36

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1925 - By letter, Wyatt Earp beseeches his friend William S. Hart to portray him in a movie, to correct the "lies about me." Hart never did. [story]

Ken Striplin | Santa Clarita Turns 36

By Ken Striplin | Monday, Dec 18, 2023

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Happy Birthday, Santa Clarita

Just a few days ago on Dec. 15, the city of Santa Clarita officially turned 36-years-old. Our community has evolved incredibly since incorporation back in 1987.

Originally measuring 39-square-miles, with only 130,000 residents at the time of our incorporation, the City now spans over 73-square-miles and is home to more than 230,000 residents! Although we have grown, we still retain our small-town feel with many big-city opportunities. Back on Dec. 15, 1987, there were only a handful of parks in our fledgling City. Now, Santa Clarita boasts 37 beautiful parks with trails to explore, fields to play sports, playgrounds for kids, impressive public art pieces and so much more.

Santa Clarita regularly ranks high on esteemed review lists for safety, healthy lifestyle, boasting a business-friendly environment and more. This year our City was named the 4th Safest City in America, the 5th Best City in the Nation for Women, the 8th Best City for Hispanic Entrepreneurs, the 31st Happiest City in the Nation and was recognized as the Most Business-Friendly City by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. In addition, this year marked the 33rd consecutive year that Santa Clarita was designated as a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Over the past year we reached some major milestones in our City. Our budget topped the $300 million mark for the first time, which is in stark comparison to the City’s first budget of just under $30 million in 1988. We welcomed residents to a new inclusive play area at West Creek Park, to new amenities at Central Park and to the new Vista Canyon Multi-Modal Center. We saw the return of our landmark Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival and married six couples at the same time as part of The Big I Do. We also welcomed the Tesoro Adobe Park as our 37th park. All of these achievements are part of the action items in our five-year strategic plan – Santa Clarita 2025. I encourage all of you to check out the full plan to see what new projects and amenities are in store for our 37th year of cityhood in 2024. Some of these exciting projects include Skyline Ranch Park and the new Valencia Community Center. The City has also demonstrated its strong commitment to addressing homelessness in our community by donating millions of dollars to Bridge to Home’s new shelter project. This project is anticipated to come to fruition this spring located on Drayton Street. Please visit SantaClarita.gov/SC2025 to see all the action items listed in our City’s strategic plan.

Santa Clarita is a unique and special community that has truly lived up to the vision of our City founders. I am proud of our organization’s work over the past 36 years – thanks to the devoted leadership of our City Council. We will continue to provide our residents with top-notch customer service and high-quality City resources. Please join me in wishing Santa Clarita a happy 36th birthday, and to all of you…happy holidays!

Ken Striplin is the city manager for the city of Santa Clarita and can be reached at kstriplin@santaclarita.gov.

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