SANTA CLARITA : Exemption for Developer Backed

The Santa Clarita City Council has tentatively exempted a 70-unit luxury housing project from a proposed slow-growth initiative.

Under a seven-year development agreement approved late Tuesday, Sand Canyon Estates would be exempt from Measure A, which would allow Santa Clarita to limit residential construction to 475 new housing units each year through 2002.

The council will hold a special meeting April 2 to grant final approval to the project, which is made up of million-dollar estates on 137 acres off Live Springs Road.

In exchange for the exemption, the developer has agreed to pay more than $500,000 to help build a flood control system in the area.

Sand Canyon Estates is the second developer to request an exemption from the proposed ordinance. The council rejected a previous request by the Anden Group, which wanted to build about 3,000 housing units on a 1,000-acre parcel. Unlike the Anden proposal, residents of the area supported the Sand Canyon Estates project.