The following is an article written by Dave Bossert for the “Living in the 91381” quarterly community publication published by the Stevenson Ranch Community Association. There has been a lot of discussion in recent months about the various options regarding governmental status facing the Stevenson Ranch community. If you are not aware of this don’t worry your not alone. Many residents in the community have not given much thought to it either as it has not had a meaningful impact on their lives.
The options I am referring to are annexation into the City of Santa Clarita, city formation, staying exactly as we are in the un-incorporated Los Angeles County or forming a Community Services District (CSD). To some, these options may have no meaning whatsoever which could lead to disappointment at some future date.
Currently, two consultants are working on separate reports, an Initial Feasibility Analysis (IFA) and a Community Options Comparison Study, which will answer a number of questions including exactly how much sales tax revenue, is being generated along the commercial corridor of The Old Road. The answers to this question are important in understanding the financial dynamics associated with each of the options the community has before it.
The IFA will give up two very important pieces of information. One, it will determine whether city formation is an option for our community. No one actually knows definitively whether this is an option or not; there only has been speculation that city formation is a possibility. This report will answer that question once and for all.
The second piece of information from the IFA, and probably the most important, is the actual revenue being generated in the designated study area. This is the one piece of data that will have far reaching ramifications for our community. The sales and property tax revenue being generated in our communities will have important application to whatever change in status that the community ultimately decides.
That one piece of data, the tax revenue, will allow the community leverage in negotiating any of the options that are currently facing the community. Conversely, the Community Options Comparison Study will give the community an apples to apples comparison of all the options available to allow community self-determination.
Both reports will create a level playing field so that our community can be treated fairly. That is why there appears to be an effort to diminish the value of these reports. A few people are now trying to claim that these reports don’t matter or that there is no reason to wait for these reports. In essence, they have decided to push an agenda without the advantage of giving all the facts.
There are pros and cons to each of the options available to the residents of Stevenson Ranch, Sunset Pointe, Southern Oaks and Westridge; collectively the West Ranch area. It is important to fully understand each of these options as once a choice is made by the community there is essentially no turning back. The analysis that is currently underway is being done by unbiased and independent consultants located in Berkley and in Los Angeles.
No one can fully understand the ramifications of each of these options until the reports are completed. Listening to the rhetoric from different sources is confusing and is counterproductive. The community will be presented with choices in the next year or so that will have a long lasting and profound effect on our neighborhood.
The City of Santa Clarita wants to annex the West Ranch communities and does not want to see another city in the Santa Clarita Valley. All the comments and information coming from the City are to achieve that one goal. History is littered with examples of individuals and groups of people who acted and reacted without having the full benefit of factually correct information.
Once the reports are completed there will be a formal presentation in a public forum. The reports will be presented by the individual consultants/authors of both documents. These presentations of both reports will be important meetings for all homeowners to attend when they are scheduled.
Updates and current information are available at both the Stevenson Ranch Community Association (HOA) and the West Ranch Town Council meetings. The HOA meet on the third Wednesday of each month at 5:45 PM at the IHOP on Pico Canyon Road. The West Ranch Town Council meets at 6:30 PM on the first Wednesday of each month at the Newhall Room at the TPC Country Club in Westridge. These are valuable neighborhood meetings that are a source of current, accurate and authoritative information pertaining to our community.
Anything that can affect your property values and your current situation deserves to be looked at carefully. It is all the more reason to get these reports completed and reviewed by as many members of the community that wish to educate themselves as possible. Knowledge is power but only if you want it!
Dave Bossert Commentary
Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.