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L.A. County approves Tejon Ranch project on 4-1 vote

by City News Service • May 1, 2019

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a 19,333-home Tejon Ranch development in the Antelope Valley, overruling environmental critics who say it will damage sensitive habitats and add to the region’s burden of commuter traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.

The vote was 4-1 with Supervisor Sheila Kuehl dissenting.

The board had tentatively approved the project in December subject to a local jobs contract and review of fire mitigation strategies. It signed off on a development agreement for the project without comment Tuesday.

Kuehl said in December the project was saddled with too many concerns and expressed skepticism about the developer’s promises about jobs and the availability of affordable housing.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger had countered that the massive project would help meet a critical demand for housing in the Antelope Valley. Tejon Ranch Co. has agreed to 18% affordable housing and agreed in principle to create supportive housing for the homeless within the planned community.

Centennial project is sited on roughly 12,300 acres of a more than 270,000-acre expanse of land owned by the Tejon Ranch Co. The land is considered the largest contiguous piece of private property in California held by a single owner.

The project will include not only housing, but also 10 million square feet of commercial space, schools, fire stations, a police station and a library, to be built in phases over 20 years. Tejon Ranch has committed to build fire and police stations and other public infrastructure at no cost to county taxpayers to create what its describes as a self-sustaining community.

Nearly half of the development site’s acreage will be preserved as open space. That’s in addition to a 2008 agreement struck between Tejon Ranch Co. and a coalition of environmentalists — including the Natural Resources Defense Council, National Audubon Society and Sierra Club — under which the developer agreed to permanently conserve 90 percent of its land in exchange for the right to develop the balance. That land includes the highest quality habitat areas on the ranch, according to the company.

At December’s board hearing, a procession of opponents spoke out about environmental concerns. Some called the idea of a master-planned community of such magnitude a relic from the past — despite the housing shortage in the county.

A few voices echoed those concerns Tuesday.

“Centennial is the very definition of controversial, having been opposed by thousands of your own constituents, state agencies, the L.A. Times and numerous environmental and environmental justice groups,” said J.P. Rose, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Rose ticked off several reasons to oppose the project, including its location in a fire-prone wilderness, the destruction of wildlife connectivity for mountain lions in particular, and the traffic and air pollution generated by an estimated 75,000 new daily vehicle trips.

In order to mitigate concerns over air pollution, the project includes measures to promote electric vehicles and complies with per-capita greenhouse gas emissions for the state’s 2030 and 2050 targets.

Though the site is located in a severe fire hazard zone with no natural water supply, Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby has said he is comfortable with the site’s fire safety planning.

The development is projected to create more than 20,000 permanent jobs, roughly 25,000 construction jobs and a $31 million annual public revenue surplus for the county.

–

Filed Under: Home, Politics

15 comments for "L.A. County approves Tejon Ranch project on 4-1 vote"

  1. A.S.S. says

    May 4, 2019 at 8:08 am

    Aqueduct?

    • Laughing says

      May 5, 2019 at 8:00 am

      That sits low in the valley, the development will be above it meaning large tanks will have to be put higher than the community or big pumps used in case of fire outbreak. Remember this is in a area that can catch fire easily with high winds to make it worse.

  2. m. says

    May 3, 2019 at 11:09 am

    So when will they start transforming Avenue D into a 6-lane freeway from the 14 to the 5?

    That’s what’s going to have to happen next in order to accommodate traffic!

    It will be easier and less treacherous for the people in this new city to come over to Lancaster/Palmdale rather than down a steep grade into Santa Clarita/Castaic or Bakersfield.

  3. Acres Resident says

    May 2, 2019 at 9:12 am

    But it’s o.k. to rip Antelope Acres to shreds so Rex and Lancaster can put up solar panels next to schools and homes. People and animals contract Valley Fever but the beat goes on. SMH.

  4. Tim Scott says

    May 2, 2019 at 1:19 am

    I have a piece of land where they won’t let me put up so much as a tent unless I drill a well that can supply about ten times the water I need; fire fighting surplus requirement. And they approve 20,000 house developments to just tap off the aqueduct. The rich get richer.

  5. Hazardous says

    May 1, 2019 at 10:54 pm

    “Though the site is located in a severe fire hazard zone with no natural water supply…”

    The perfect place for a new development…

  6. Cynic says

    May 1, 2019 at 8:11 pm

    This location is extremely remote and far from any type of job centers. Also, the western portion of the 138 between the 5 and 14 would need serious work. It’s already notorious for having a bunch of inpatient morons who try to pass in the most dangerous situations.

  7. RF says

    May 1, 2019 at 4:37 pm

    Where’s the water coming from?

    • Kathy ( job Killer) MaClaren says

      May 1, 2019 at 7:22 pm

      Add the 20,000 homes recently approved in Santa Clarita for Newhall Land and the Tejon project shows who our Supervisor is in bed with. Water is not being asked to show the source. Huge Campaign contributions are now all but guaranteed.

    • 5th grader says

      May 5, 2019 at 9:28 am

      The water is coming from three sources. It’s very easy to look up stuff in order to find out.

      • Kathy [ job killer] Maclaren says

        May 6, 2019 at 1:45 pm

        And the traffic mitigation? I’m sure the same easy to look up answers are there for all to see as well. Traffic sucks now and the County approves another 30,000 homes.

        • 5th grader says

          May 6, 2019 at 3:58 pm

          I was answering RF. I don’t care to engage in your hate campaign towards a woman.

      • RF says

        May 7, 2019 at 6:06 pm

        5th: I meant the “extra” water seeing as we have a shortage of the stuff.

        • Kathy [Job Killer] MaClaren says

          May 7, 2019 at 9:50 pm

          I need to correct the number of homes between the 2 massive developments. The correct number is close to 40,000 new homes approved by the County Board of supervisors. Im sure the extra water needed to serve that number of homes will be easy to find in the approvals yet we are in a shortage now. Hum sounds fishy to me!

          • D'Arcy L. says

            May 8, 2019 at 2:21 pm

            Do you own a home?

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