Plan Shows Lack of Vision

The Santa Clarita City Council finally adopted a general plan after 3 1/2 years. It is a year late and resembles the former county General Plan in most land-use areas.

When the General Plan Advisory Committee submitted a state-of-the-art 21st-Century plan that called for four mini-city centers, the Planning Commission and City Council quickly threw it out.

Then weeks before adopting the plan, the Planning Commission submitted a plan for a 2,200-acre city center, with 25% of the land in the riverbed.

Obviously, this plan was not developed in the short time it was before the public eye.

The General Plan can be amended four times in a year. Unlimited zone changes are allowed in each amendment. This alone defeats any claim that it will control growth.

The slow-growth ballot initiative would set an annual 475-home cap. That limit could only be changed by a vote of the people. Because of lack of vision, the City Council and Planning Commission have approved a City Center that will create a congested, polluted inner city. Isn’t it time we do something about it?

CAM NOLTEMEYER

Valencia