Westside Reader March 2016

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6 • THE Reader SCV Economic Outlook event March 10 By Tammy Marashlian Staff Writer Tickets are still available for the March 10 SCV Economic Outlook, a unique event that gives the Santa Clarita Valley community an in-depth look at the local economy for the year ahead. The yearly event, organized by the SCV Economic Dev e l o p m e n t Corp. and College of the Canyons, features Dr. Mark Schniepp of the California Economic Forecast, Dr. Mark Schniepp Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner and Amy Lemisch, executive director of the California Film Commission. The event is scheduled 1:30 to 5 p.m. March 10 at the Hyatt Regency Valencia. The conference, with capacity for about 300 people, typically sells out. Topics include the international economy, especially involving China, oil prices and global markets, the national economic forecast, and data on the housing market, commercial and industrial developments. “The event is geared at the business leaders and decision makers in the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Holly S c h r o e d e r , SCVEDC President and CEO. “The presentations by the two economists will give good perspectives on the economy, both on the international level and all the way down to the Santa Clarita Valley economy. We get a local look and that is distinct.” Unlike previous years, this year’s outlook includes specific discussion on filming and its role in the SCV, Schroeder said. “She’ll talk a bit about the industry in California, as well as in the Santa Clarita Valley,” Schroeder said. “Since filming in the Santa Clarita Valley is one of our priority industries, we thought that p e r s p e c t i v e would be very Mark Vitner interesting to the attendees.” Amy Lemisch I n c l u d e d with the price of admission, attendees will take home an in-depth report with economic data and the SCV forecast. While there are other economic outlook events across Los Angeles County, none focus so specifically on the local community, Schroeder said. “It’s a lot of information,” Schroeder said. “It’s a data-packed event.” Tickets can be purchased online at scvedc.org/outlook. R water merger March 2016 Opponent claims violations of state open meeting law By Robb Fulcher Staff Writer Acritic of a potential merger of two valley water agencies alleges that officials broke the state’s open meeting law as they discussed the possible merger. The allegation was denied by officials considering the merger. The idea of merging the valley’s water wholesaler, the Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA), with retailer Newhall County Water District (NCWD), gained momentum early last year, as representatives of the two entities met to try to settle legal disputes between them. In a letter to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Lynne Plambeck, an NCWD board member and critic of the possible merger, accused the NCWD board of violating state law when it met in closed session Jan. 14 “as to whether or not the district should proceed with consolidation” with CLWA. “No report of the action taken was made after the end of the closed session,” Plambeck wrote. Plambeck also alleged that an ad hoc committee, made up of representatives of the two agencies, broke the law by failing to notify the public that it was discussing a potential merger. The public meeting law limits the topics that can be discussed behind closed doors. If prosecutors find that a public agency improperly made a decision in a closed session, they typically direct the agency to make the decision over again in an open session. The law does not reverse the decisions of public agencies, but is designed in part to help the voting public monitor the practices of public agencies. Plambeck cited a notice for a Feb. 4 public workshop on the potential merger, which stated that for “roughly one year” representatives of the two agencies “have been discussing ways to enhance regional collaboration, benefit ratepayers and advance water reliability across the region.” Plambeck argues that under the state law, the ad hoc committee constitutes a “committee of a legislative body,” that is governed by the law. Officials defending the merger discussions said the ad hoc committee, and the NCWD board, had been meeting to discuss ongoing lawsuits between the two agencies, which is allowed under the state law. The merger idea developed as a way to settle the lawsuits, they said. Discussions of pending litigation are allowed in closed session under the state’s open meeting law, the Ralph M. Brown Act. Plambeck contends the discussions “have been about consolidation, not settling a lawsuit.” NCWD General Manager Steve Cole denied that the open meeting law had been broken. “We’ve gone above and beyond what’s required. We firmly stand behind our process,” blue light SPeCial Santa Clarita shines a blue light on traffic violations New traffic enforcement tool installed at seven intersections In an effort to improve traffic safety at seven major intersections, the City of Santa Clarita has installed new blue light enforcers which serve as red light violation detectors on traffic signals at each site. The seven locations were chosen due to their high incidents of red light violations. A total of 15 blue lights have been installed at the following intersections: Bouquet Canyon Road and Newhall Ranch Road, McBean Parkway and Valencia Boulevard, McBean Parkway and Magic Mountain Parkway, McBean Parkway and Newhall Ranch Road, Bouquet Canyon Road and Seco Canyon Road, Soledad Canyon Road and Whites Canyon Road and Lyons Avenue and Orchard Village Road. The blue light allows sheriff deputies to observe the status of a red light from across the street. The light illuminates when a traffic signal changes to red, allowing the sheriff’s deputy to safely and easily monitor and address motorists running the red light, without having to pursue a vehicle through an intersection. The blue lights are not red light cameras. The installations of these traffic engineering tools were added as part of the City’s focus this year to improve traffic safety which also includes working with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department on more enforcement, and increasing education and outreach to encourage safer driving. The City of Santa Clarita has installed new blue light enforcers which serve as red light violation detectors on traffic signals at each site. “We’re embarking on increased traffic enforcement and to combat issues that are the cause of the majority of traffic accidents in Santa Clarita, such as speeding, failure to yield, distracted driving and various other unsafe driving habits,” said Mayor Bob Kellar. “The new blue lights are a traffic enforcement tool that we hope will ultimately improve traffic safety,” he added. For more information about this project, please contact Andrew Yi, City Traffic Engineer at (661) 255-4326 or at AYI@santaclarita.com. he said. He said no vote was taken at the Jan. 14 meeting. “The heart of the matter has been, and continues to be, settling litigation between public agencies,” Cole said. Cole said a response to the letter would be prepared. Joan Dunn, a former NCWD board member, and her husband Ed Dunn, a former CLWA board member, said they follow board meetings closely and were surprised to find that discussions of a potential merger had been going on for so long, prior to the Feb. 4 workshop. At the workshop, the Dunns spoke in opposition to a merger. The two have called for a forensic audit to determine the state of the agencies’ finances. Robert Sagehorn, former general manager of CLWA, spoke in favor of a merger. In an interview, he said the intricacies of managing imported water, local groundwater and reclaimed water would be better navigated by a larger, more coordinated agency. Officials involved in discussions of creating a new agency have emphasized that no decision has been made. Proponents of a merger say it would save money, secure more state grants for water projects, and better coordinate a complex web of water transmission issues. Critics say a merger could bring rate hikes, and would create a water “monopoly” too large and remote for consumers to control. R Earth Arbor Day event coming to Central Park By Ken Striplin Santa Clarita city manager Presented in partnership with the SCV Family of Water Supplies, Earth Arbor Day is a fun, festive and free way to learn about new eco-friendly products, programs and local organizations, as well as to increase your family’s environmental awareness. The 2016 Earth Arbor Day event will be held on Saturday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Central Park, located at 27150 Bouquet Canyon Road. The event will include six interactive zones including; the Community Zone, the Eco Zone, an Alternative Transportation Car Show, the Children’s Zone, the Tree Zone and the Water Conservation Zone. Entertainment, hands on activities and educational displays, together with creative recycled art exhibits and decorated residential recycling carts make for a very green day in Santa Clarita! If that isn’t green enough, you will also be able to take home a bag of garden mulch created from last year’s Christmas trees. And if you are bringing the young ones, they can tour the City’s Community Gardens, learn about how helpful ladybugs are for the garden, make scarves from old t-shirts and bring home an herb plant. The Castaic Lake Water Agency is offering guided tours of their Conservatory Garden located above the park site. Live musical entertainment and animal show, plus an interactive water conservation demonstration are also included. For more information on the City’s Earth Arbor Day event, check out: GreenSanta Clarita.com.
March 2016 THE Reader • 7 SauguS Bermite Development Agreement expiring this month Specific Plan remains By Josh Premako Staff Writer While the development agreement expires later this month for the nearly 1,000-acre former Whittaker-Bermite property in the center of Santa Clarita, it is not expected to have an effect on the ongoing cleanup efforts of the contaminated land. Located between Railroad Avenue and Golden Valley Road, the property was for much of the 20th century home to munitions manufacturing and testing. Decades of contamination necessitated groundwater and soil cleanup work that is expected to continue for years. Nearly 21 years ago, in May 1995, the Santa Clarita City Council approved the Porta Bella Specific Plan for the sprawling property. The following March its accompanying development agreement was signed. That development agreement expires on March 28. Over the past two decades, the property has changed hands several times, and current ownership is divided among multiple entities that have interests in the site. Financial responsibility for cleanup, however, remains with the Whittaker Corp. and its successors, according to Tom Cole, Santa Clarita’s director of community development. In addition to the development agreement allowing for more than 1,200 single-family homes, nearly 1,700 multi-family units and 96 acres of commercial property, the specific plan calls for 407 acres of dedicated open space and 42 acres of recreational-use space. With the development agreement expiring, any proposals by a developer in the future would need to undergo a full environmental review and public hearing process. City officials have said there are no development plans on the horizon for the site. While the development agreement is expiring at the end of the month, Cole said the specific plan for the property will remain in The former Whittaker-Bermite property is visible in this photo, looking southwest from near the intersection of Golden Valley Road and Centre Pointe Parkway. The California Aqueduct is visible at the lower right. PhoTo By DAn FAinA/FoR The READER place indefinitely, either until it is amended by the City Council or replaced with another, amended development agreement sometime in the future. The agreement’s expiration will not affect cleanup, a state official said. “We don’t anticipate that this will affect cleanup,” said Russ Edmonson, spokesman for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The site is divided into several Operable Units, or OUs, as part of a remedial action plan that was approved by the DTSC in 2010. Edmonson said cleanup in OU5 is 95 percent complete, work continues in OU2 and construction of a groundwater treatment facility Women assemble fuses at the Bermite Powder Co. in the mid-1950s. The company produced an array of explosive devices and fuses for the U.S. military. PhoTo CoURTeSy oF SCVhiSToRy.CoM in OU7 is continuing. The chief contaminant on the property has been perchlorate, a byproduct of rocket fuel that has been linked to human thyroid problems, which has polluted groundwater and soil on the property. Since 2006, more than 41 million gallons of groundwater from the northern alluvium area near the Metrolink station on Soledad Canyon Road have been extracted and treated, according to a February report by project coordinator Hassan Amini. Additionally, in January, the DTSC began testing a storm water filtration system for the property. The DTSC estimates construction of groundwater cleanup infrastructure could take close to a year, and officials have estimated complete groundwater cleanup could take nearly 20 years total. Of the 996 acres, only about 500 are developable, according to past reports by DTSC officials, due in part to ridgelines and streams on the property. After the development agreement for the site was approved, a concerned citizens group filed a lawsuit, with concerns that only the least-contaminated parts of the property would be cleaned up prior to development. As part of the lawsuit’s settlement, a condition called DS12 was included, requiring full site cleanup by DTSC before any development can be carried out. Edmonson said DTSC officials are still awaiting a response from city officials on whether that condition will apply for future development agreements. Cole said that DS12 expires along with the development agreement. He referred questions about how its expiration could affect future development agreements to DTSC officials, who responded to the Reader: “DTSC does not have jurisdiction on planning or redevelopment ordinances. DTSC is responsible for overseeing the cleanup of the site and for making sure the property or portions of the property are safe for the intended use.” The site’s future holds not just development potential, but the opportunity to improve local infrastructure with the extension of several roads as part of Santa Clarita’s general plan, including connecting Via Princess to Wiley Canyon Road. While the city has been moving ahead with work to extend Via Princessa between Sheldon Avenue and Golden Valley Road, city officials have maintained that cleanup must be completed on the former Whittaker-Bermite site before road extensions through the site will take place. Site cleanup is funded by insurance proceeds from various parties. While Whittaker’s insurance policy for the property reportedly expires at the end of the decade, officials have maintained they are committed to site cleanup. Whittaker’s general counsel Eric Lardiere declined to comment last month on any questions related to the insurance. As recently as several years ago, he stated: “Many millions of dollars have been spent already, and we will continue to do so.” Cole added: “Whittaker Corp. (or their successors) has the responsibility to pay for any cleanup that might not be covered by the insurance. The city is not taking any action that would change this responsibility.” R
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