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1987 - City of Santa Clarita formation approved at the polls; Buck McKeon, Jan Heidt, Jo Anne Darcy, Carl Boyer III, Dennis Koontz win first City Council election (in that order) [story]
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Commentary by Kevin D. Korenthal
| Sunday, Jan 31, 2016

kevinkorenthal_1212The subject of much community discussion, the Laemmle Theater project proposed for a portion of a vacant lot on the corner of Main Street and Lyons Avenue is expected to be voted on by the Santa Clarita City Council on Feb. 9 at 6 p.m.

It’s important that you, the citizens of our fine city, understand the value this project will bring to your community and the Old Town Newhall area in particular.

To establish my relevance to this discussion, I’d like to share with you that I had the privilege of serving alongside some of this valley’s great Old Town Newhall luminaries including recently deceased Parks and Recreation Chairman Duane Harte, Arts Commissioner Susan Shapiro and SCVTV President Leon Worden on the Newhall Redevelopment Committee. I served on the committee from roughly June 2007 through 2011, when redevelopment was cancelled statewide by Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature.

At the time of cancellation, redevelopment was successfully allowing the city of Santa Clarita to bring tax revenue developed in the city back from Sacramento to invest in the Downtown Newhall Redevelopment Area. The streetscape, beautification, traffic reduction and countless individual business grants were just some of the awesome achievements that redevelopment produced for Old Town Newhall.

I think it is safe to say that while great advances were made to improve the area, the end of redevelopment agencies left us with the job half completed.

Prior to and during my time on the committee, several high-profile project ideas were batted around and eventually made their way to the City Council for inclusion in the [Old Town Newhall Request for Qualifications-Proposals] document which was issued in November 2014 (see page 4).

laemmlesiteOne really strong element included in the bid package was the desire to bring a six- to eight-screen movie theater to Old Town Newhall. Seeing it as an alternative to the large theaters showing high-budget movies, community members, local artists and businesses working in the movie industry all agreed that a small art-house theater would be the perfect addition to Santa Clarita’s movie heritage and a great anchor business for the Old Town Newhall area.

Fast-forward to a little less than six months ago when Laemmle Theaters LLC brought to the City Council a proposal to build just such a theater in combination with retail and public space.

The project was presented – as many redevelopment projects of the past have been presented – with a request that the city consider spending a small amount of local tax revenue to assist the project in coming to fruition.

Keep in mind that this request would have been granted with little if any fanfare had the tax increment of the now-defunct Redevelopment Agency been available to the city to offer to the developers.

It has been pointed out that sans the redevelopment tax increment, any funds allocated to the developers to assist with funding the project or its sustained operations would come from the city’s general fund. This is the same fund from which the money for all of the great amenities you love and use came from. Most of the parks, trails, city programs, traffic improvements, swimming pools, indoor-outdoor sport courts, skate and dog parks and beautification projects came fully or partially from general fund tax revenue.

The project proposal in question is not without precedence. Many cities around California have successfully used tax revenue to offset the high cost of building commercial and residential property in California. These communities have seen real, tangible economic development as a result of these investments. Communities that were once economic dead zones or withering historic areas have seen actual rejuvenation in part because of these public-private partnerships.

As a 33-year resident of this community who rarely went to Old Town Newhall in its pre-redevelopment era, I am a strong proponent of the Laemmle project and have sought out opportunities to help promote it. The tangible benefits that such a theater and retail-use project will bring to this community will give city residents the opportunity to utilize the end result for community-inspired events such as local film festivals, nonprofit fundraisers and other assorted uses. I like that the city will have a stake and a voice in this project long after construction is completed.

The question I ask those who are critical of this project and who are dead-set against a public funding element is: If not this project, which project? I’ve heard it proposed that a single-level parking lot or basic mixed-use development would be cheaper to build and would be unlikely to require a public subsidy. But what kind of economic activity will develop from a parking lot? And what motivation will additional businesses have to move to more expensive retail space in Old Town Newhall without a dynamic anchor business in place?

The inclusion of Laemmle Theater will attract patrons to the Old Town Newhall area who might not otherwise come there. They’ll come by car, bicycle, on foot and through our conveniently located Metrolink station. That in turn will increase economic activity for other businesses in the area.

The retail space alongside a theater is also more likely to attract great shopping and dining options to Old Town Newhall that simple retail space or a parking lot alone cannot.

The City Council will also vote separately Feb. 9 to seek bids to construct a city-run parking structure on the same block.

Ultimately, the Laemmle Theater project will act as a catalyst for attracting more economic activity and future investment in Old Town Newhall – so your support for it is critical to realizing the city’s vision for this historic region of our community.

 

Kevin D. Korenthal is vice chairman of the city of Santa Clarita Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission and offers this commentary as a personal contribution to his community.

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23 Comments

  1. Annette Mann says:

    Interesting. I don’t live in Newhall. I live in Culver City. I love good movies and the best are usually to be found at Llaemmle Theater. They screen quality films that do not get screened anywhere else. The owner is also very community spirited. I would hate to live in a community where there was not a theater choice like Llaemmle brings. I hope your project is successful.

    • Denny says:

      Perhaps you will be willing to send some money to Laemmle Theaters to make this private business venture successful in Newhall.

  2. Tony Newhall says:

    Kevin, very well said.

  3. Steve Petzold says:

    Where can we see the proposal that is being voted on by the council ?

  4. waterwatcher says:

    Yes, a theater like this would be great, but I am not so excited about the three-story parking lot that I have hear will go with it or the “small” $14million of tax payer dollars that I have heard it will cost to bring Laemmle here. What ever happened to businesses that don’t have to be subsidized by the public?

    • SCVNews.com says:

      Don’t know if you’ve read the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan, but all of Main Street is 2, 3 and 4-story buildings.

  5. Kevin D. Korenthal says:

    I cannot speak to the parking structure. That will be a separate vote at the same meeting. I personally don’t have an opinion on that aspect of redevelopment because I have not had a problem parking in Old Town. As another poster pointed out, the Metro station has plenty of parking and it’s only 1 block away.

  6. Denny says:

    The small amount of public money that Kevin wants to spend is at least $4 million. That’s not exactly small in my universe. Kevin argues that parks, trails, city programs, traffic improvements, swimming pools, indoor-outdoor sports courts, skate and dog parks and beautification projects came fully or partially from general fund tax revenue. Exactly which of this litany of amenities represents a private business? If movie goers are so hot to have a Laemmle Theater in town, let them step forward with their money to fund this private business endeavor.

  7. Denny says:

    How much public money will private businesses such as Cheesecake Factory, Nordstrom, etc. be asking for if they are viewed as beneficial to our community? What part of public vs. private investment don’t proponents of this project understand?

    • Cheryl Phillips says:

      Denny – This is not a public VS. private investment, but rather a public AND private investment working together in partnership. We do understand and feel it will bring other quality developers to OTN.

      • SCVNews.com says:

        The city works hard to attract quality development, much it through the Economic Development Corp, which is funded by the city, county and private enterprise. Laemmle is simply one of MANY such targets.

  8. Steve Kassel says:

    Thank you for your wonderful article. I have been carbon dumping as I drive to NOHO, Encino, Pasadena, and other LA neighborhoods to see movies since graduating from CalArts in the 1980s. I understand why the community was content with just The Plaza and Mustang drive in back then, and how our evolution to the Man and Edwards theaters befitted latter times, but now in 2016 we need the kind of culture that a Leammle brings. Great societies have supported the arts and if we want a community that increases cultural awareness, objective thinking and higher levels of entertainment, the City Council must put this one through. As I approach retirement years, having a theater nearby like the leammle is important. If this community does not have one, other communities become more important. Besides, wouldn’t William Hart want it if he were alive?!!!

  9. Yolanda Felix says:

    Water watcher…..It probably won’t be any taller than the library that is directly across the street. Communities such as Old Town Newhall, where the City has already put a considerable effort into revitalization, shouldn’t stop now. And if you were to take into consideration the amount of people that leave this valley for other parts to see quality movies, that currently do not come to this valley. Dining and shopping in the area will flourish. People will stay here. That’s a win-win. The tax revenue generated from this project should help to offset that bill. But, as Kevin said so well….If not this project, what then? I for one am in favor of this project, it will bring life back into our diamond in the rough, Old Town NEwhall …..

  10. Cheryl Phillips says:

    Thank you, Kevin, for the great history and summary of this project. I plan on sharing this on my Facebook page where all my friends that support this project will see it. I will also ask for their support at the City Council meeting on Feb. 9th where they can fill out a card to show their support. If they cannot attend the meeting, they can also email the City Council members to promote and endorse this exciting endeavor.

  11. Kevin D. Korenthal says:

    Hi Denny,

    As I point out in my column millions of tax dollars have already been spent in Old Town Newhall but you didn’t hear much about it because it was done through the Redevelopment Agency. Much of that money bolstered businesses in the area.

    The only thing that is different now is that instead of coming from money designated as part of a tax increment returned to the city from the state, it will come from the general fund. Intelligent people can disagree over that fact but I believe that as long as the city is simultaneously investing in all of the other needed city infrastructure and amenities, an investment in bringing an anchor business to Old Twon Newhall is appropriate. But again, you are free to disagree.

  12. David Putnam says:

    While the Laemmle Theater project seems to have some reasonable potential to improve a self created blighted area of Old Town Newhall, I think we need to address a couple of big elephants in the room. First off, what gives the City Council the right to single out this project and provide funding while other private businesses who’ve invested their resources and grown successful operation have received a dime of money from the City’s general fund? Secondly, is the Laemmle/Serrano project the best deal we can get for a project of this scope? Who will be there to guarantee the investment that our current City Council is considering if the bottom falls out of the Laemmle company 10 years down the road?
    I live on a street that hasn’t received on lick of street maintenance with the exception of a monthly street sweeping for the past +21 years I’ve lived on it. How about giving me some local return on the property taxes I pay?

    • SCVNews.com says:

      “have received a dime of money” – a lot of businesses have received much more than a dime. As one example, the grand ballroom at the Hyatt Valencia is called the “Santa Clarita” Conference Center for a reason.

    • Kevin D. Korenthal says:

      David, countless businesses in Old Town Newhall received grants during redevelopment. Still more businesses throughout the city have received preferable tax arrangements and assistance with funding expansion.

      I think this is the “best deal” not because it’s the only deal we can get but because it is exactly what has been sought. I invite you to go back through the column I wrote and click on the RFQP. In it you will see that the city asked for just this project and this is the project that was received.

  13. David Putnam says:

    If there is a enough of surplus funds in the City’s general fund, the City Council should considering moving it into a budgeted item to increase the amount of street maintenance and contracting for more officers to enforce traffic laws among other important items. If they have money like this to throw around, and refuse to repair and maintain our infrastructure, they should return the money to the taxpayers.

  14. warren jones says:

    This is bad precedence. Now any private business knows, all we have to do is buy some people off at the city, to get our projects funded. We can tell stories about all the economic reasons for giving us money.

    The projections about this theater are unrealistic. They have projected over 200,000 movie customers a year. That is almost 1,000 customers a day. With the exception of top Hollywood hits, our local movie theaters are empty, especially during non weekend periods.
    I have gone to our local movie theaters, on a weekend, to see a non popular movie, with a total of three people in an empty theater.
    Have any city council members or supportors done this? I doubt it.

    There is not a demand for this private venture here. A few local people may come, but not many from out of town. Laemmle/Serrano is assuming none of the risks. That is placed on the subsidy from taxpayers of Santa Clarita.

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