Santa Clarita Says New County Report Underestimates Needs

Los Angeles County and Santa Clarita officials are at odds over the conclusions of a county report that predicts that the Santa Clarita Valley will need $912 million worth of new roads, libraries, parks and other services by the year 2010.

On Wednesday, members of the county’s Regional Planning Commission called the report a valuable tool that will help them plan for the fast-growing valley’s future.

But Santa Clarita officials said the report underestimates the amount of money and work needed to preserve the valley’s quality of life. At the urging of the Santa Clarita City Council, Assistant City Manager Ken Pulskamp submitted a four-page letter to the commission citing what he said were deficiencies in the report.

Pulskamp said the county needs better information to “fully understand the magnitude” of the valley’s coming problems. He criticized the report for not considering law enforcement or schools.

The report--prepared by the consulting firm Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall for the Department of Regional Planning--provides a high-priced laundry list of capital improvement projects, compiling the expansion plans of state, county and other agencies serving the valley. Some are already under way, and others are only on the drawing board and may never be built.

It was the first such compilation of projected public service needs in the valley.

The report said the valley will need eight new fire stations, 642 more acres of parks and six additional libraries by 2010. The largest expense facing the valley would be $428 million to upgrade and expand its water system, the report said.

The report said it would cost $178 million to complete a variety of highway projects. James L. Harris, a senior civil engineer for the consulting firm, told commissioners that the road improvements could keep traffic moving smoothly through the valley.

Major Problem

Although traffic is perceived as a major problem in Santa Clarita, Harris said, congestion there is not as bad as in other county areas.

Commissioner Lee Strong said the report’s traffic projections give the commission a realistic way of viewing traffic problems.

But Santa Clarita officials view traffic as the city’s major problem, often calling it intolerable. Pulskamp noted that the city and the Southern California Assn. of Governments have said it will cost $340 million--nearly twice the report’s estimate--to build road projects needed to avoid gridlock by 2010.

The report also addressed how the valley’s public services are coping with current needs. Commissioner Sadie Clark said the report showed that basic public services are being met.

“We are not experiencing any immediate problems,” she said.