…environmental groups agreed to a deal that will allow a new city of 58,000 residents to rise in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The pact clears perhaps the largest remaining hurdle for the Newhall Ranch project, which was proposed during the development boom of the 1980s and has been stalled repeatedly by protests, legal challenges and even criminal investigations.

Newhall Ranch will join other large developments in the works along the Interstate 5 corridor that together are likely to transform one of the last undeveloped sections of Los Angeles County. To the north, developers built a massive outlet mall and are planning a housing and resort project at Tejon Ranch.

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors certified tract maps for the company’s first two villages, Landmark and Mission. Three more villages are expected to follow.

The agreement was the second major truce among environmental groups and developers since 2008, when the Tejon Ranch Co. agreed to set aside 178,000 acres and provide an option for public purchase of 62,000 additional acres to create a state park, realign a 37-mile segment of the Pacific Coast Trail and provide docent-led tours of sensitive habitat. It also pulled back development plans from ridgelines crucial to the endangered California condor.

In that case, a coalition of five environmental groups promised not to fight Tejon Ranch’s plans to build three urban centers, including more than 26,000 homes as well as hotels, condominiums and golf courses…

Source: Deal for new city at Newhall Ranch fuels development boom transforming northern L.A. County – LA Times

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