January 12, 2007

LA Daily News

By JUDY O'ROURKE

SANTA CLARITA - Some may have spurned last year's city open-space measure, in part, because of secrecy about which parcels would be bought for preservation.

Now as a new initiative is being discussed, a study by a nationwide conservation group identifies nearby areas some say are worthy of purchase.

"I would recommend that parcels they have identified here strongly be considered in the city's plan," said Ron Bottorff, chairman of Friends of the Santa Clara River. "Many of these areas tie in to crucial wildlife corridors, which connect Los Padres National Forest and Angeles National Forest. These are some of the areas of top concern that ought to be acquired and protected."

A conservation plan unveiled by The Nature Conservancy last fall urges protection of several areas in the Upper Santa Clara River watershed that are threatened by urban sprawl, invasion of nonnative species and fire suppression.

"We've lost 95 percent of our wetlands (in Southern California,) so the remaining 5 percent has to support all of the wetland-dependent species," said E.J. Remson, a senior program manager for The Nature Conservancy. "The Santa Clara River is one of the best remaining wetland habitats in Southern California."

In November 2005, property owners voted down by 60 percent the city's proposed $25-a-year-per-parcel special assessment to fund park and open-space purchases, but a new measure is under way. Unlike the last measure, this one would not use money to develop or maintain parks; it would be used only to buy and preserve undeveloped land.

If the earlier bond measure had passed, it could have generated about $1.46 million a year to buy, maintain and develop parkland and open space, and the money could have been used to generate tens of millions more.

The new initiative's grass-roots campaign should soon be under way. A community-based committee will raise campaign funds and in November, the Santa Clarita City Council approved $100,000 to pay for consultants' services and an engineering report. Prospective properties would be listed in the report.

A contributor to the Nature Conservancy report said the plan's "solid scientific findings" could help the city compile its wish list of prospective properties.

"You can't go wrong by over-including high ecological-quality parcels in the engineer's report," said Paul Edelman, deputy director of natural resources and planning for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

While the goals of the city and the conservancy are not identical, there could be some overlap.

The Nature Conservancy plan highlights local wildlife corridors and rich habitats in Acton; Santa Clarita, Mint, Bouquet, San Francisquito and Castaic canyons; and Piru Creek. The wilds, carpeted in chaparral, sage, scrub and woodlands, are populated by endangered, rare and threatened plants and animals, such as the arroyo toad, California red-legged frog, spotted owl and Southwestern willow flycatcher.

Thirty-eight federally or state-listed species, among others, rely on the river.

"I don't know of another place that has so many," Remson said

The plan is a blueprint for conservation that sets priorities and makes recommendations. The group has protected almost 11 miles of the Santa Clara River in Ventura County by bringing together stakeholders in that area.

"One of our key strategies on the (river) has been to acquire high conservation value properties from willing sellers," said Misty Herrin, a conservancy spokeswoman.

That could prove a challenge in Santa Clarita, one of the fastest growing cities in the county. Roughly 30 stakeholders were consulted to shape the plan for the upper watershed.

Some say only a small inner circle should be privy to real estate transactions - to prevent the asking price for properties from skyrocketing.

"I have seen in my real estate experience that properties have gone for inflated prices because it was learned they were needed properties for a larger purpose," said Santa Clarita Councilman Bob Kellar, who co-owns Kellar Davis Real Estate. "This is human behavior. Generally speaking, it works to the interests of any buyer ... to be careful and cautious and try to ensure they're not being held to pay a higher price."

All cities negotiate land acquisitions and sales behind closed doors to protect the taxpayer's dollar, Kellar said.

On the other hand, transparency could galvanize support for the new measure, whose predecessor many called vague.

"The funny thing about those people who say it will drive the price up, I think the opposite," Edelman said. "As you start to negotiate with the people, the public often has latched onto wanting that parcel. As the public develops affinity for land I think the landowners begin to recognize that it's a little bit higher of a hurdle to maximize their development."

The city has partnered with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to buy and preserve areas in and around town. Edelman is also a member of the citizen committee formulating the city's new measure.

Public agencies can only pay the appraised value for a property, Edelman said.

Though environmentalists may covet some areas within the planned 21,000-home Newhall Ranch project just east of Valencia, Edelman said the open-space measure likely will not generate enough money to make a dent there because the entitled land is so valuable.

The concept of acquiring open space in 2005 seemed to have public buy-in, but there were concerns about provisions in the measure, such as a compounding cost-of-living increase, assessments spiraling into perpetuity, vague wording and uncertainty about which lands would be protected.

"The biggest problem was we didn't know which properties the city was trying to acquire," said Teresa Savaikie, a local environmentalist. "Since it didn't have any conservancies behind it, it became more questionable to me."

While rambling wildlands are nirvana for some, others complain of a turf shortage for popular team sports.

Local chapters of the American Youth Soccer Organization were among the sports groups that lobbied for more active parks when the earlier measure debuted.

"Certainly undeveloped open space is nice, however, developing open space for youth sports organizations is much-needed as well," said Jim Niner, area director for AYSO. "We have thousands of kids who do not have an adequate amount of practice and game facilities."

Roughly 7,00 youths play soccer in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Santa Clarita suffers from a deficit of parkland.

The general plan's goal is five acres for every 1,000 people. With more than 170,000 residents there should be 825 acres of parks - but there are just 245.

The Nature Conservancy is hoping to see a draft version of the bond measure.

"We always are interested in local conservation measures the voters are considering and would be willing to do that in this initiative," Remson said.

The city will seek a stamp of approval and support from environmental, business and homeowner groups.

Printed with permission from The LA Daily News