Katherine & Caroline Squires (sisters) made the trek to Downtown LA yesterday to fight the first phase of Newhall Ranch, Landmark Village. Katherine and I once went on a tour of the Santa Clara river valley (I wrote about it way back in 2006) and she’s a neat lady, very sharp, and quite passionate about preserving the environment. After reading her account about how she and others who were treated, imagine how you’d feel if you were at the Hall of Administration yesterday:

We just got back from the Los Angeles County board meeting in downtown.  We were there for the hearing on the proposed Newhall Ranch’s ‘Landmark Village’ development project along the Santa Clara River.  Having spoke at other government meetings in the past we knew going into it that the odds were stacked against us and we would not receive much support from our elected leaders…we just didn’t know that it was going to go down as one of the worst experiences we have ever had with our county government.  We thought it was common knowledge that a public hearing is scheduled in order to have our elected leaders hear the public and consider their input,  allowing citizens this ONE opportunity to speak their mind…but here is the reality:

We dropped what we needed to do today (work, etc.) to drive almost 2 hours to downtown through stop-and-go morning traffic (insert eye roll here).  When we arrived we were informed that the 9:30 a.m. meeting would actually start an hour and a half late.  Naturally, you could understand how delighted we were to have risen so early to be there on time.

While we waited patiently for our turn to speak, we had the pleasure of watching the Board Members be awarded praise for their great deeds in the community.  They accepted compliments and kudos from a variety of individuals and delayed the meeting for another half hour while they patted themselves on the back.

We were in for a shock once the hearing actually began.  The first thing Mayor Antonovich (this is what he insists on being called) proclaimed was that each speaker would have just 60 seconds to give their comments…instead of the usual 3 minutes.  We both questioned why Antonovich had not warned us sooner about this major setback.  He declared that he was enforcing this rule because there were so many people commenting.  However, in reality, it wasn’t a ridiculous number of people who wanted to speak.

We all had to quickly re-draft our remarks while we were hustled to the podium to speak.  We all came prepared with 3 minute presentations.  The fact we were given such an insignificant amount of time to speak with virtually no warning seemed to be a deliberate ploy to undermine the public commentary.  We could not listen to our fellow speakers because we were quickly racing to change our comments.  This was very unfair…especially when the first people speaking, those in favor of the project, were given unlimited time.

As the members of the public spoke to the Board we were accorded very little respect.  While concerned citizens poured their hearts out, Antonovich chowed down on snacks, had multiple side-bar conversations with his assistant, and at one point even left the room while someone was speaking!  He didn’t excuse himself first, rather he just stood up and left.  The person speaking didn’t know whether to continue or not, as it was unclear if anyone was even in charge of the meeting at that point.  The speaker questioned whether or not the meeting could even proceed legally, seeing as how there were only 2 of the 5 Board Members in the room.  The speaker was told to continue!

The behavior of the other Board Members was no better.  One of them appeared to be flirting with two young ladies at his side.  The other Board Members drifted in and out of the room while people were speaking or slouched in their chairs looking indifferent and bored.  It was embarrassing to witness such unprofessionalism and frustrating that they demonstrated such inappropriate behavior.  Could you imagine if your workplace followed such an example?  Antonovich failed to demonstrate any respect for the process.  We wanted to say something to him regarding the inherent contempt for the citizens evident in this situation however, that would have wasted precious speaking time!  It takes longer to microwave a hot pocket than we were given time to speak!

The silver lining was that a plethora of environmental organizations were there to combat all the developers (the people in suits) that were in the room: Heal the Bay, The Audubon Society, Sierra Club, SCOPE, Friends of the Santa Clara River, Center for Biological Diversity, and numerous concerned citizens.  They gave very detailed comments as to the problems associated with this project.  We were impressed with their ability to quickly revamp their comments and give their evidence with grace and professionalism in such a hostile setting.  The Landmark Village project has lasting and detrimental consequences for our valley and our neighboring cities and it deserved more than an hour of the Board Members’ time.

We ask you, who gets up at the crack of dawn, takes off work, coordinates rides, writes comments, drives through hours of traffic, pays for parking, and gets ready to speak in front of a crowd (most people would rather have a root canal), only to have their speaking time cut down to 60 seconds and then be given no response and even worse…a lack of respect by our government leaders who are supposed to reflect the voice of the people?!

We do and so did the other speakers!  We did it and will continue to fight because it is the right thing to do…it would just be reassuring if our elected leaders would do the right thing as well.

-Katherine and Caroline

“The Squires Sisters”

With a response like that from elected officials, is it any wonder activists resort to the Courts? That’s why I’m never sympathetic when some local water official complains in the media that lawsuits are expensive and hard to deal with. Without access to the courts, these activists -who spend their free time reading EIRs and studying the land- would literally have no way to get their legitimate concerns heard. The system in LA County has always been stacked against them and it continues to this day. 

Also, isn’t ironic that after 24 years of City hood, the Council is beginning to resemble the Supervisors, at least on some issues?

Fatburger is coming to town, and the Santa Clarita WorkSource Center is holding a recruitment event Friday at 10 a.m. for job-seekers.

Hiring for part-time positions, the eatery is looking for restaurant people to work in the restaurant and serve as cooks at the new location expected to open on The Old Road.

“We actually help to recruit on behalf of any interested employer,” said Jessica Jackson, communications specialist with the city of Santa Clarita.

“We connect job-seekers to employers looking to fill available positions,” Jackson said. “Fatburger requested assistance.”

Dive into Fatburger a bit, and you’ll find it’s a fast food chain with some interesting history. For a long time I thought Magic Johnson had a stake in the chain, and he did, until about 2003. That’s when an investor with a checkered history (including a stint in jail for fraud) took over the firm, and now his company, Fog Cutter Capital, is expanding the restaurant by 30 locations in 2011.

Apparently Santa Clarita is on his list.

So what are we to make of this story? Well, essentially what we have here is the City of Santa Clarita (through its no doubt earnest and hardworking people at the Workforce Development Center) functioning as the HR department for a millionaire’s holding company which owns a burger joint with name recognition. I mean, Fog Cutter could do what normal companies do when looking for workers: advertise in newspapers, Craigslist, and Monster.com, but why do that when a local government is willing to advertise and screen applicants for you for free?

Dollars to hamburgers doughnuts Fog Cutter is taking advantage of the City’s enterprise zone program too, which means they get a kickback on taxes for every fry cook they hire.

And for what? What do we the people of Santa Clarita get out of this deal? Part time fry cooks. That’s right. Part time fast food restaurant jobs that probably won’t even offer health insurance or other benefits (thereby offloading such burdens to the state).

I hate to read stories like this because I want Santa Clarita to become a destination for real businesses. I want the City to put its resources towards attracting high quality businesses, so our residents don’t have to hump it over the hill every day. I know it’s hard work, but we’ve done it before (Princess, Spectra Labs, etc).

Fatburger though? These are not the jobs we are looking for.

Alas, this will be spun as a successful outcome of City programs and so don’t be surprised when you see photos of members of the City Council at the Fatburger grand opening, hailing the success of this venture as they cut the ribbon with their giant novelty scissors.

Do you like to drive and are good with GPS and maps? We are hiring 1 field inspector in the Santa Clarita area. To be considered for this position you must live within these zip codes: 91321, 91351, or 91387. The name of our company is 24HR Corporation. In short, we need people to drive around in their vehicle and take photos of homes as well as drop off notes from the bank that services the mortgages on their homes. We act as the middleman between the homeowner and the bank.

Duties include:
-Take an average of 4-10 photos of the home and update the bank’s file via an online database.
– knock on some doors to see if the property is occupied and/or leave a note from the bank
- try to determine if the home is vacant or occupied by a homeowner/tenant.
– Check the property for damage or neglect that the bank would have interest in knowing

This is part time work that is paying $3 an inspection and currently has 520 inspections in that area a month.

The worst part of it is, I bet “24 Hour Corporation” will get a ton of applicants. There’s enough desperate people in the SCV (like the residents of those 520 homes) that someone will take this job, work for scraps for a middleman who, in turn, is getting paid by one of those criminal banks we bailed out not long ago.

How much do you want to bet that the founder of “24 Hour Corporation” used to sling mortgages or refis or even homes just a few years ago during the boom?

Craigslist ad

I see a more cynical possibility:  Similar to the aluminum siding salesmen in “Tin Men” who would drop a $20 bill on the floor of someone’s living room and then deny it belonged to them in order to build goodwill and credibility, the Board will unanimously vote down the increase to prove how much they can “sacrifice.”

Other predictions?

UPDATE

Oh, boy I should have seen this coming after the City Council vote to increase their pay earlier this year.  As the Signal reports the Hart Board did vote 3-2 to increase the monthly fees paid to Board members for attending meetings by (a whopping) $21, and like the City Council the members running for reelection in 2011 voted AGAINST the increase, with incumbent Board member Steve Sturgeon acting all indignant and refusing to take the increase.

In my opinion it does seem illogical to increase Board fees by even a paltry amount during times of austerity.  However it seems even more illogical to go for such a small increase.  Don’t elected officials know you are supposed to swing for the fences?

I’ve pinged those who usually know about corporate/government relocations to the SCV and they either said they hadn’t heard about it or didn’t respond. So take this for what it’s worth: a rumor, but I have confidence in my source.

The current IRS office in Van Nuys appears to be a typical IRS service branch, with several services offered to the public. Its current location is at the Van Nuys civic center, familiar to many an SCVer who have had the misfortune of being called for jury duty there.

If this is true, it’s great news from an economic standpoint. Federal jobs tend to be stable jobs, and service branches (like the DMV, or Post Office or a library) generate reliable and steady traffic. Plus, government services tend to cluster, meaning that as the North County region continues to grow, perhaps more federal agencies will look to Santa Clarita. Indeed, the Postal Service has already  invested a lot in the SCV.

But on a more cultural level, having the IRS -the federal government’s tax collection agency- call the SCV its home is also deliciously ironic in that the SCV is a hotbed of anti-tax Tea Party activism where Laffer Curve adherents and Grover Norquist devotees hold yearly anti-tax protests in front of City Hall.

I mean, can you think of a more ironic or awkward arrangement? It’d be like the GOP holding a presidential nominating convention in San Francisco’s Castro District.

A reader reflects on what it could mean for SCV:

Love that Apple is putting a store in Valencia. As mentioned in your previous thread, it’s bigger news than most observers would imagine. People flock from all over So Cal to go to the Northridge store and I expect similar traffic to this Valencia store. It’s a huge win for SCV that should not only bring in more local business to its retailers, but also contribute to the notion that Valencia/SCV  is “the place to be” for home shoppers.

I concur. I think this will bring a lot of foot traffic to the Patios and that can only be good for Westfield Town Center Valencia (or whatever they’re calling it these days) and good for the City. Just think, a portion of all those high-priced aluminum gadgets will go into the City’s coffers. Score!

But more than that, it does signal SCV can accommodate the higher end retail segment. That’s already been proven by the opening of the Williams Sonoma store (the Apple Store of the food-conscious world). By opening a store in the SCV, Apple is telling  other upper-end retailers that, “Hey, the SCV is untapped and fertile. Go there. You’ll find success.”

I’m going to be out of town on Saturday unfortunately, but I predict some pretty solid crowds for the opening. I hope some of you will take pictures and email them to me from your fancy iDevices.

A little secret: even though I’m a PC guy, I was at opening day of the Apple Store in Glendale way back in May of 2001. I have the T-Shirt to prove it. I treasure it alongside my BeOS T-shirt, a Windows Server t-shirt and other excellent computer memorabilia.

My report this month will be short and sweet. First of all, enjoy the beautiful summer weather, BBQs and family vacations because as you’re all aware we are going to be very busy in the fall and next year insuring that Barak Obama is a one-term President!

The good news is that no President has been reelected with the economy in as serious a condition as it is today. We have a great crop of candidates beating the bushes in the early primary states, Iowa and New Hampshire spreading their message and testing their mettle. I’m firmly convinced the eventual Republican nominee will end the disastrous reign of Obama.

Am I being unfair with how I’m characterizing his remarks? You be the judge but consider, if the economy was doing really well, Bob Haueter wouldn’t have much “good news” to spread, now would he?

Speaking of the economy, here’s the latest and last SCV economic snapshot from City Hall covering the month of April. Next month the Economic Development Corporation will take over these reports. SCV unemployment remains at 7.2 percent. Notably, single family home values were down 11% compared to April 2010. Commercial real estate space doesn’t look like it’s doing too well either; three occupancy permits were issued in April for a total of 9,700 sq. ft.

Commercial and Residential Building Activity
One new building permit for commercial office space were issued in April 2011
Two new building permits for residential units were issued in April 2011.
For the commercial sector, there were 15 tenant improvement permits and 28 alteration permits issued in April 2011. For the residential sector, a total of 95 residential permits for additions and alterations were issued.
Three Certificates of Occupancy were issued, permitting occupancy in 9,704 square feet of space, of which all was for retail space.

Housing Market
In the Santa Clarita Valley, single-family median home values decreased less than one percent between March 2011 and April 2011, and were eleven percent below the values in April 2010.
The number of Notice of Defaults (NODs) issued in April 2011 was 41 percent less than the level in April 2010.

Revenue Generation
Sales tax revenue generated in the fourth quarter of 2010 was up 7.7 percent from the same time period the previous year, but down from our highest third quarter in 2007. The sales tax figures represented in this snapshot contain Point of Sale (POS) revenue only and do not include state and county pool allocations.
Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) in April 2011 increased 9.8 percent compared to April 2010.
The economic impact of on-location filming in Santa Clarita in April 2011 was $1,734,000, representing a 13 percent increase from the impact in April 2010.

Employment
In April 2011, 102 vouchers were issued for jobs created or retained through the Enterprise Zone program, representing a potential tax savings to businesses of $3.8 million. Since the City was designated as an Enterprise Zone in 2007, a total of 3,656 jobs have been created or retained which represents over $136 million in potential tax savings to local businesses.
The City of Santa Clarita’s unemployment rate in April 2011 was 7.2 percent and remains lower than both the statewide and Los Angeles County averages.

After thinking about this some more and reading all your responses to our initial story on this, I’m struck by how useful and productive our land is in the SCV from a capitalist perspective. Let’s review all the ways in which the land in the SCV has been productive:

First it was used as ranching territory after Henry Mayo Newhall bought it. To some extent, it’s still used in that way, cows still roam land on the Rancho. They may not for long, if Newhall Ranch is built.

Then, at the beginning of the oil boom, folks down in Pico Canyon managed to stand up an oil well and tap crude. An oil refinery followed in what was then the “Newhall Saugus” area. Wealth, for a little while, flowed from the ground.

Then in the early to mid 20th century, the land was used for farming. As SCV old timers remember, onion fields and other produce was grown all over the place. For a long time, this made up the core of the pater familias’ business interests. In some areas, you can still see how the land is used in this way.

Finally, in the 1960s, the land underwent massive change as entire communities were built. I suppose someone, somewhere, at some time determined the land would be even more productive if it held houses rather than patches of agriculture. Their decision to do this was no doubt based in part on the availability of cheap oil extracted from land elsewhere in the world.That continued for decades, a city was born, and voila! 250,000 people live here.

And there was one other productive use of the land: throughout these periods, land in the SCV was and continues to be used for shooting films, television and advertisements.

But now today, someone (Newhall Land?) is benefiting from materials beneath the land again by using the latest technology, hydraulic fracturing.  Here’s how that economic model works according to Geology.com:

Mineral rights also include the rights to any oil and natural gas that exist beneath a property. The rights to these commodities can be sold or leased to others. In most cases, oil and gas rights are leased. The lessee is usually uncertain if oil or gas will be found so they generally prefer to pay a small amount for a lease rather than pay a larger amount to purchase. A lease gives the lessee a right to test the property by drilling and other methods. If drilling discovers oil or gas of marketable quantity and quality it may be produced directly from the exploratory well.

This isn’t a unique story (or even a very interesting one) but it shows that even though the housing market has gone bust and the SCV is nearly built-out,  enterprising people will find other productive ways to use our land. And make no mistake about it, whoever owns this land is getting a cut of the fracking operation, of whatever gas is being extracted from the ground.

I wish the Signal would do some more reporting on this. Who owns the land? Is it really a hydraulic fracking operation? What’s the regulatory approval process for this in California? What chemicals are they using in their operation? Can we expect more of these types of operations on land in the SCV that is difficult to build on? What’s the City’s take on this, do they view this as economic development that should be encouraged?

If you take just a look at the city, they have a population of approximately 177,000. If you apply the LA County standard (which may change if the City decides to come up with their own standard), the City needs 88,500 square feet of library space.  With the three city libraries, there is approximately 45,800 square feet of space.  That’s a deficiency of 42,700 square feet. Even with the new Newhalllibrary, that would bring their square footage to 71,000 approximately. That’s still a deficiency of 17,500.

In closing, the Santa Clarita Valley is vastly underserved by libraries and new facilities need to be built. Stevenson Ranch is a good one by the County. The City should probably build a new facility in the Saugus area as the math shows they’re deficient as well.

I think lstaedtler is right, and, what’s more, I’m feeling bitchy today and this got me thinking…in what other industries and services are we underserved? Here’s a few off the top of my head:

• Movie theaters: Seriously? Two theaters with a total of 22 (maybe 24?) screens serving a population of almost 250,000 people? And, to add insult to injury, they’re both Regal/Edwards, the lowest common denominator of the movies, the Pic ‘n Save of the theater business. No Landmark or Arclight for us “way out there” in the SCV. And yet we willingly open our valley up to the film makers and producers on the other end of the theater supply chain. Thanks for the love Hollywood!
• Consumer electronics: Three Walmarts, two Targets, a Kohls, two Rosses, and a few Tuesday Morning/Home Goods type stores. Plenty of variety for those retail segments, but only one Best Buy. And it’s way up in Saugus served by a parking lot designed by M.C. Escher. It wasn’t always this bad. We used to have a Good Guys and a Circuit City. Soon we’ll have an Apple store. But it’s not enough.
• Men’s clothing: When the Magic Mountain Pkwy Mervyn’s closed, it forced me to branch out and discover that men’s clothing consisted of more than khaki-colored Dockers and High Sierra polos. Yet here again, the SCV disappoints. The men’s clothing section at Macy’s is smaller than the women’s, and specialty men’s clothiers in the SCV are few and far between. We’re not all roughnecks and/or Abercrombie teens up here people. Why do I have to venture south to find a good suit or some moderately fashionable men’s threads? And no, Boot Barn is not acceptable fashion for all times and places
• Good broadband. Time Warner cable is second rate, my AT&T DSL struggles to get 2mb/s, and even AT&T U-verse pales in comparison to Verizon’s FIOS. Who’s pocket do we have to pad to get some real broadband (50+mb/s) in this town?
• Restaurants & Coffee shops.
• Courthouses & civic buildings (they’re working on the former though)

This is going to sound sexist, but if you step back and look at it, the town seems to provide abundant amenities to women, but it doesn’t offer the same level to discerning men. A woman can hit up the Glenn Ivy Day Spa, shop along Town Center  at some of the nicer retailers, go down-market at the Ross to score a deal and finish off the day sipping wine with friends. But for men? Well, if you are the type of man who would wait in line for Transformers 3, drive a stomper truck, and wear Hurley t-shirt over your beer gut to a night of fine dining at the Chilis, then the SCV  has what you need. In fact, you’ll never need to leave.

I know because that man used to be me.

Meanwhile, you can fold up a copy of the Signal into a paper airplane, throw it, and it will likely land at a nail salon, a dry cleaner, monster truck accessory shop, karate dojo, strip-mall church, or massage parlor.

Maybe Apple Computer sees something in the SCV that the other retailers haven’t yet, something that will presage more retail investment in Santa Clarita. Maybe there’s hope for more shopping, dining, and leisure options. But I’m not holding my breath. If anything, the problem is worse than it was just 10 years ago. And now that I’ve become an insufferable snob about what I eat and wear, I notice it more.

The Signal asked a great question in its Sunday editorial on redistricting:

Because of our relatively low population here, our valley merits about one-half of an Assembly district, and about  one-quarter of a Senate district. So we will be teamed up with some of our neighbors.

The question is: which ones? With whom do we have the most in common in terms of politics, values, common economic and social interests and other important community standards?

Is it Palmdale/Lancaster? Points west — Simi Valley and Ventura County? Or perhaps it’s San Fernando Valley communities, such as Sylmar, Mission Hills or Pacoima?

Well speaking for SCVTalk.com, it most certainly is not Lancaster/Palmdale. I’d like the SCV to identify most with agrarian/bohemian Ventura County, but that’s intellectually dishonest of me. Therefore it is Los Angeles proper, not necessarily “Sylmar, Mission Hills or Pacoima” as those cities are mentioned in the Signal editorial to give a negative connotation to our association with Los Angeles.

Look, it breaks down like this (this is my grand unified theory of the SCV): We in the SCV are stuck in a tug-o’-war between High Desert AV values and Cosmopolitan Los Angeles Values. We’re about 35-40 miles from each place and we have the ecology of both places in common (high desert in the east, semi-arid to the west). Most of our workforce is employed either in the SCV or commutes to the LA megalopolis; few of us commute to the high desert.

But it’s more than that. We in the SCV are much more accepting of people different than us. We’re quite multi-cultural here: 60-65% white, 30% Latino, 10% Asian (sorry African Americans), and while we have our ethic and racial tensions, they are nothing compared to the Antelope Valley. True, we need some work on accepting gays, but we, as a community, nearly voted for a black man for president, and there are several very liberal pockets in Santa Clarita. The difference was most stark during Proud Racist-gate, when we had to import supporters from the Antelope Valley because so few SCVers showed up.

Maybe politics is a bad example; we’re still mostly conservative. Well then, what about local industry? We are Hollywood’s backlot, and you know what Bill O’Reilly says about Hollywood liberals. We wouldn’t tolerate all the filming up here unless we were permissive and tolerant in our very soul and character. The Antelope Valley? Well the only jobs up there are 1) defense and weapon related (they manufacture stuff that kills people), 2) retail, 3) prison guards. We couldn’t be more different!

The differences go to what we eat too: We wouldn’t bitch about all the chain restaurants out here if we didn’t know there was something better. People in the AV? They don’t bitch about Chili’s and Red Robin because when that’s all you’ve ever eaten, it doesn’t taste that bad. Do gourmet food trucks visit the AV? No they don’t, because AVers aren’t discerning about what they put in their mouth, unlike SCVers.

Now I know we collectively hate the San Fernando valley and moved here to escape it. I get it. But we love its amenities, don’t we? That’s why we drive to Nordstrom’s in Northridge, or the Glendale Fashion Galleria, or hang out on a Saturday in Pasadena’s old town. So let’s be honest. We hate Van Nuys and San Fernando and Sylmar and Pacoima. We certainly don’t hate Pasadena or Northridge or Burbank or any of the SCV-clones that have sprung up in the last 20 years. Hell, we’re trying to replicate the success of Pasadena in our Old Town Newhall!

This is the great battle for the SCV’s soul for the next 10 years. I say we yoke ourselves to Cosmopolitan Los Angeles Values and bid adieu to any association we have with the Antelope Valley. That way John Boston can continue to poke fun at our neighbors up the 14 and we can have the best of both worlds: being of LA but not in it. So go to these redistricting meetings and support the SCV’s inclusion in districts that represent parts of the San Fernando Valley rather than the Antelope Valley and High Desert.