Minutes of Agua Dulce Town Council Meeting

AGUA DULCE TOWN COUNCIL UPDATE April 12, 2000

Unfortunately, the Council's historical records from 1991 through 1996 are incomplete. However, there are residents who have treasure troves of materials on various issues that have come before previous Councils. If you are one of those hard working volunteers on previous Councils who has documents, maps, minutes and insight on any item addressed in our bimonthly updates, we would appreciate your sharing your files and expertise with the community. The more knowledge we have when dealing with old issues like the Pratty property or Rio Dulce, the better. We'll take your old files off your hands, or arrange to make photocopies for the Council.

SUMMIT REAL ESTATE GROUP (SREG): Rick Simmons, President, and Derrol Wynn, Partner, from SREG participated in the Council's April 12th meeting. Currently in escrow on the Borax property which sits on both sides of Davenport Road near Wagon Wheel, the company is in a 120 day due diligence period which includes examining lot line alternatives, water availability, and other factors. Once the property closes escrow, SREG will start the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process, which will include development of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). A map with the property outlined has been posted on the bulletin board at Richard's Canyon Market.

According to SREG, the Borax property covers approximately 527 acres, which SREG plans to develop into approximately 75 to 100 home lots ranging in size from a net 2 acres to larger lots of 5 or more acres. Once developed, these lots will be sold to one or more home building companies. The projected home prices would be in the $500,000 range. The property is zoned A-1 and M-2, according to Rick Simmons.

COUSSOULIS DEVELOPMENT (Pratty property): A Tentative Tract Map was vested back in the 1990's, following public hearings and extensive comment by the Agua Dulce Town Council and other local organizations. With the vesting of the Tentative Tract Map by Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, the opportunity for public comment ended. Unless Coussoulis Development chooses to make any changes in the Tentative Tract Map, our opportunity to formally impact this development of 339 homes is over, other than school mitigation. Unless otherwise stated in the vesting documents, school mitigation (to be negotiated by the Acton-Agua Dulce School District) must be completed before a building permit would be issued. According to a representative of the Regional Planning Subdivisions Section, a developer with a vested Tentative Tract Map may record the Tract Map and begin breaking ground, without consulting the community any further on issues already addressed in the project's Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). Mr. Nick Coussoulis and the staff of Coussoulis Development, however, have been actively seeking input from the Agua Dulce community and the Town Council over the past year. Company representatives have repeatedly stated that they wish their development to be an asset to our community. Mr. Coussoulis has also stated publicly that he believes our Community Standards District (CSD) to be vital in maintaining the desirability of both building and living here. Representatives of Coussoulis Development will again participate in a Council meeting - April 26th. Your Town Council is currently studying historical and current documents regarding this project. We encourage you to join us for this update on April 26th, especially if you have a current interest in or past knowledge of the Pratty property project.

AGUA DULCE TOWN COUNCIL UPDATE - April 12, 2000 Page 2 of 2 TRANSIT MIXED CONCRETE: No, this large-scale mining project has NOT gone away. However, the appeal hearing before the Board of Supervisors has been postponed from May 23rd to a yet-to-be-determined date. That provides you with more time to write a letter voicing your concerns to each of the members of the Board of Supervisors. A sample letter, along with each Supervisor's mailing and Emailing address, will be published soon in the Country Journal and the Acton-Agua Dulce News.

A FEW GOOD WOMEN AND MEN: The Council is in need of your help. As we have tried to share with you, there are many major issues confronting our community. Since every Council member and committee chair has a full time job, in addition to their volunteer efforts on the community's behalf, time available becomes a critical factor. The Land Use Committee, chaired by Jim Duzick, could really use the help of a few dedicated folks willing to do some serious, independent homework. We need help in researching the various development projects and other land use issues. In particular, we need people living within Agua Dulce who would be interested in "coming up to speed" on the aggregate mining projects (TMC/Southdown and CalMat/Vulcan). Right now, our community has just 4 people who know the depth and breadth of the Transit Mixed Concrete project. If we move away, or some other event makes us unavailable, there's no one with the factual knowledge of the project to represent the community in this matter. This Land Use Research Subcommittee will require that you learn (more than you ever wanted to learn) about TMC's plans, mining in general, and the environmental impacts such a project would bring to our region. You also will become thoroughly familiar with the Agua Dulce CSD and Los Angeles County Zoning Codes. You may even have the distinct pleasure of driving downtown to attend a meeting of the Regional Planning Commission in order to express Agua Dulce's concerns in one or more permit hearings.

There are other Council committees that need your help as well. The Water Stewardship Committee has been quietly working to gather well data in order to refute the claim by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB) that Agua Dulce's aquifer is riddled with nitrates. This committee is now in need of residents who will spend a few hours helping to test local wells, and gather additional background information. The goal is to present a convincing, scientifically based report to the CRWQCB by November.

Through your effort on one of our research teams you CAN make a difference in the quality of life we all enjoy here. If you have read this far, and still wish to volunteer, please call Diane Terito (268-8701).

FUTURE AGENDAS:

April 26th Coussoulis Development presentation TBA Water issues in the Sierra Pelona Valley and surrounding region TBA Friends of the Library presentation Once again, if you send an Email to the Council's AOL address, we will happily send you an advance copy of our bimonthly Update. You may reach us at AguaDulceCouncil@aol.com .

Warm regards, DIANE TERITO President, AGUA DULCE TOWN COUNCIL

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