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Calgrove Corridor Coalition

OVOV Special Development Document

OVOV Special Development Area-Calgrove Corridor Smiser Ranch

An approximately 38-acre assemblage of land located east of Interstate 5, west of Wiley Canyon Road and north of Calgrove Boulevard is commonly referred to as the Smiser Mule Ranch within the Calgrove Corridor. The northern equestrian property remains largely undeveloped and house multiple farming buildings, large pastures, and two equestrian commercial buildings. A fitness center, a vacant restaurant pad and supporting parking facilities are located on the properties to the south. Given the site’s location at the southern portion of the Santa Clarita Valley, just north of the Newhall Pass, and its proximity and visibility to the Interstate 5 corridor which borders the property to the west, this area is considered a gateway into the City of Santa Clarita from the Los Angeles Basin.
Reasonable Development Potential

Based on Smiser’s gross acreage, this MX-N designation would allow for approximately 830,000 square feet of commercial development on the property. However, this site has a number of physical constraints that will limit the subject property from being developed to the maximum allowable standards. Those constraints include oak trees, Caltrans right-of-way dedication, the future widening of Wiley Canyon Road to four lanes, electrical easements, and on-site drainage. Due to these known property constraints and the sensitivity of land development to adjacent residential neighborhoods, any proposed project(s) on this site shall not exceed 830,000 square feet of total residential and commercial combined development, (a Floor Area Ratio of .5,) excluding parking facilities.

Mixed-Use Neighborhood and Desired Development Characteristics

Future use and development of this site is of careful consideration. The Smiser Ranch is designated as MX-N or Mixed-Use Neighborhood. For this mixed-use property, potential projects will:

be the subject of community outreach and public participation led by the applicant with the Calgrove Corridor Coalition, Calgrove Corridor neighborhoods and the Wiley Canyon Elementary School (Newhall School District) prior to formal submittal;

preserve the character of existing residential neighborhoods located along the Calgrove Corridor and provide adequate buffer and transition from any development on the subject properties;

propose an economic engine with an appropriate amount general commercial square footage combined with neighboring and integrated housing types; be internally and externally pedestrian-oriented;

consist of 360-degree architectural design with pedestrian-scaled building massing and forms where adjacent to existing residences, with the use of landscaping to visually soften hard edges of buildings;

have varied building heights and create east/west sight lines (limit 55 feet)

include a site-specific and a community-based recreational component;
understand that introducing a higher density development at this location could (change the word to would) have traffic and pedestrian circulation impacts on the existing neighborhood, and therefore to minimize those impacts, special attention to access points must be considered and;
place internal driveways and walkways and locations of entrances and exits so not to disrupt the flow of traffic into or out of the existing residential neighborhoods, and to allow easy access to and from the project site from the Calgrove Boulevard freeway on-ramp/off-ramp.

Footnote: May 9, 2009 We are still in negations with the City Planners for the changes in blue.