I stumbled across a photo from the late '80s. It's a sign proclaiming "Future Site of Canyon Country Park: The First Park Built in the City of Santa Clarita." Since then, it's as if Canyon Country has been punished, the park being pretty much the only "first" the area ever received. It was second to get a library, second to get a COC campus, even second to get a Target and a Wal-Mart. Canyon Country residents are an admirable lot, getting by on so little with their famous stoicism.

Newhall suffers somewhat more loudly. Like Canyon Country, it is rich in old people, strip malls and little else. However, Newhall has seemed to receive preferential treatment, especially considering how much more populous Canyon Country is. There are worries that things may be changing.

Brown's Plan
Governor Jerry Brown would like to see redevelopment agencies dissolved - not physically dissolved as that would be kind of messy considering all the people involved, but done away with, abolished, nixed. Statewide, this would free up a couple billion dollars each year for other uses, but in so doing would eliminate the Santa Clarita Redevelopment Agency. Its only project area is Newhall, where redevelopment funds have been used to acquire property, update the streetscape and provide affordable housing. When asked by SCVTV about the plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies, City Manager Ken Pulskamp said "that would be catastrophic" and Mayor Marsha McLean worried that the loss would be "absolutely devastating." There has been steadfast insistence that redevelopment dollars are improving Newhall, boosting property values and attracting new businesses, which helps everyone.

However, it's hard to say that spiffy new benches are more important than funding education and other core services. This has been Brown's argument, and it is strengthened by the fact that there has been abuse and waste in redevelopment agencies (exempting Santa Clarita's, of course). The future of Newhall depends on the future of redevelopment agencies, so the city is putting up a fight to keep theirs. Meanwhile, they're also struggling to save Santa Clarita's beloved enterprise zone from being cut to balance the budget.

A Tax by Any Other Name
The centerpiece of Newhall's redevelopment has been the library set to open in 2012. This is after the date that LSSI will begin operating Santa Clarita libraries in place of the County of Los Angeles. In response to public outcry over the takeover of library operations, the city created a citizen advisory committee. They have met a few times to do adorable little tasks like creating vision statements and sharing them with one another. They were not, however, consulted about a tax that the city would like to collect.

The city wants a special vote on offering more library services while reducing taxes. Yes, clever reader, it may be too good to be true. Presently, the county collects a tax of about $28 per parcel to support local libraries. When the county stops running the libraries, they will stop collecting the tax, too. County attorneys are deciding whether the City of Santa Clarita can collect the money instead. The city, meanwhile, is pitching a "tax reduction" to $19. The problem is that it's unclear whether Santa Clarita can reduce a tax that it may not be able to legally collect in the first place. Regardless, the savings won't be immense - a bit less than $9 each year. With that, you can treat Great Aunt Ethel to a senior discount matinee. She really should get out more.

Whitaker-Bermite
Leon Worden recently stated that, "Newhall has been in decline since the birth of Valencia" (which begs the question of whether Newhall was ever sufficiently great to be capable of a decline). As Newhall's younger, prettier sister, Valencia got all the money and attention. This makes one wonder about what development of the Whitaker-Bermite property, the 996 polluted acres in the middle of the city, is going to mean for Newhall.

It's a thought we can entertain since the city was given the option of purchasing the $13-million lien on the property. It is considering partnering with Lewis and Shapell Operating Corporations to purchase and develop the area. Clean-up would still take some time, but Councilmember Frank Ferry thinks they can build momentum and save money if they couple soil treatment with grading of the site in preparation for development. Planners salivate at the thought of gaining control over the large property in the middle of the city. It's so much easier to think of what can be done on a clean slate than to play with more limited options in a mature neighborhood like Newhall. For now, flashy new developments that compete for attention are the least of Newhall's worries - it has redevelopment and a library to keep funded. And perhaps we can help by learning to heart Newhall for what it is and not what it might be.

This column is intended as satire and a (sometimes successful) attempt at humor. Suggestions, catty comments and veiled threats intended for the author can be e-mailed to iheartscv@insidescv.com.