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Big dreams, big challenges
• When it comes to the future of development in the city, many eyes are fixed to the north.
The City Council will soon weigh in on a detailed plan to develop more than 10,000 acres in the area d u b b e d t h e No r t h e r n Triangle, due to the vshaped way it’s bordered by Interstate 15 to the east and the Mojave River to the west.
The plan, unanimously recommended for approval
by the Planning Commission on Wednesday, includes co m m e rc i a l p ro j e c t s , master-planned housing along curved, landscaped streets and a golf course with estate lots on the hillside.
But that Desert Gateway Specific Plan, as its been named, is also hinged on hefty land swaps, relocation of a landfill and one controversial, tentative project: the DesertXpress train from Victorville to Las Vegas.
In exchange for building the train’s terminal in Victorville, a 2007 agreement granted developers DesertXpress Enterprises, T ra n s i t R e a l E s t at e Development and Inland Group exclusive rights to plan and control the Northern Triangle acreage for the next 20 to 30 years.
That agreement has already sparked one lawsuit, with Niles LLC — which unknowingly bought 430 acres controlled by the developers — suing over how it lowered property values.
George M. Soneff, attorney for Niles LLC, said he expects that suit to be settled if the council formally adopts the latest proposed specific plan in coming weeks.
The train terminus would mean a significant boon to that part of the city, Mayor Rudy Cabriales said, envisioning hotels, restaurants and other businesses to accommodate the flood of travelers that is expected to follow.
But if the DesertXpress project “does not come to fruition,” a staff report presented to the planning commission states, “a theme park shopping mall or academic college could take its place.”
After landing the train terminal, the next obstacle to developing the Northern Triangle as planned is a stinky one: the 600-acre county landfill that sits on its eastern edge.
Last year a few city officials were abuzz about the possibility of Victorville buying the landfill and turning it into a waste-to-energy facility, where the trash would be burned to create energy. No mention has been made of that plan in nearly a year, after 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt expressed doubt about its feasibility due to projections that it would cost all Victor Valley residents two to three times as much for trash service.
“I don’t know what the plan is to take care of that because that is a monumental challenge to get around that,” Cabriales said of the landfill site. “I would think that would be on the developers to figure out how to take care of that.”
Only a third of the land included in the area’s specific plan is currently in the city’s boundaries. Half of the acreage is in the city’s sphere of influence, but another 20 percent is owned by the federal Bureau of Land Management.
In order to get a large chunk of that land, the city is waiting on Congress to pass a bill authored by Rep. Howard P. “ B u c k ” M c Ke o n , R-Santa Clarita. The Soledad Canyon Mine Act would settle a longstanding dispute between Cemex cement company and the city of Santa Clarita by giving the company 5,000 acres of BLM land north of Victorville — land the city would then buy from Cemex.
Ironically, if the city does get control of all of the land included in the plan, officials said it also stands to take on the substantial tax revenues from Cemex competitor, TXI Riverside Cement.
“We’ve been waiting for something to happen out there,” Cabriales said. “Hopefully we won’t have to wait long.” |