Map from a “Stop Las Lomas” website in 2007. Once slated for urban development, the city of Santa Clarita and county of Los Angeles are buying tbe property to preserve it as public parkland.

[KHTS] – At their meeting Tuesday, the Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously to set aside $1.3 million for additional open space and wildlife habitat in the Newhall Pass area.

In July, the City of Santa Clarita set aside $2.8 million to acquire land in the same area, which had previously been slated for the high-density improvement project, Las Lomas.

Santa Clarita, the Wildlife Conservation Board, Caltrans’ Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy are partnering with the county for this open space acquisition, to bring the total project cost to $8,125,000 for 550 acres of unincorporated land.

Once all the agencies in question have approved their individual contributions, the project can go forward, according to Rick Gould, city director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services.

“There are a number of parterns that are funding some portion of the purchase…” Gould said. Each of these agencies has some sort of formal process that we have to go to to acquire the money.”

The county’s contribution is allocated from the Specified Excess Funds available to the Fifth District, through the Regional Park and Open Space District’s Excess Funds Project.

The two properties in question, Gateway Ranch and Valley Vista are adjacent to existing publicly-owned land, according to a letter from the Regional Park and Open Space District.

Increasing the open space will provide a direct corridor from the San Gabriel Mountains between Interstate 210 and State Route 138 and the Santa Susana Mountains west of Interstate 5, the letter said.