The Santa Clarita Planning Commission is scheduled to host two public hearings during their meeting Tuesday regarding the development of the Sand Canyon Resort and the expansion of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.

On Tuesday, members of the Santa Clarita Planning Commission are set to host two separate public hearings for the Sand Canyon Resort and the Henry Mayo expansion.

Sand Canyon Resort

The proposed Sand Canyon Resort project would see the existing Sand Canyon Country Club add a three-story hotel with 241 rooms, a wedding hall, 23 villas, restaurants, a spa, a minigolf course and other amenities to the facility.

The project was brought forward by owner Steven Kim, who took over the former Robinson Ranch Golf Course in 2016 and converted it into a 27-hole desert course.

The Sand Canyon Resort would employ an estimated 500 people, and would require the removal of 21 non-heritage oak trees and approximately 511,000 cubic yards of earthwork to be balanced across the 77-acre site, according to city documents.

During construction, temporary lane closures may be necessary on Robinson Ranch Road, and construction equipment and vehicles may block Robinson Ranch Road and/or slow traffic on Sand Canyon Road, which could interfere with emergency response, including potential evacuations, according to the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

However, if allowed, project activities such as site preparation and construction would be prohibited during the typical breeding and nesting seasons of native bird species such as the California quail and burrowing owls, which is typically between Feb. 1 and Aug. 31.

The EIR also notes construction noise and vibration, and deems the impacts of construction operations “significant and unavoidable.”

The Sand Canyon Community Association (SCHOA) recently voted unanimously 16-0 to officially oppose plans for the Sand Canyon Resort.

“Normally we stay neutral on developments in our immediate vicinity, besides keeping an eye on things trafficwise,” SCHOA Board President Ruthann Levison told KHTS in February. “The zone change for this resort that Mr. Kim is trying to do, to change from 1-2 acre property to commercial, would be a disaster for our community.”

See Related: Sand Canyon Community Votes Unanimously To Oppose Sand Canyon Resort

During the last hearing on the project in January, a handful of Santa Clarita residents utilized the public comments section to voice their support for the proposed resort, while more called in to voice concerns, which were echoed by the commissioners.

One such concern raised by Commissioner Lisa Eichman was that the proposed hotel rooms and villas looked far too similar to apartments and townhomes, and that the property could be turned into residences.

“If this goes to community commercial, this can be converted to apartments,” Eichman said at the time. “It looks like the hotel is apartments, the villas look like houses.”

Other commissioners also voiced concerns on the lack of road access to the resort. Sand Canyon would be the only way in and out, and that already includes residents in Sand Canyon.

“The EIR needs to be re-looked at,” Commissioner Tim Burkhart said at the meeting. “The big one for me is fire evacuation. Building density in the fringe firezones throughout California (…) I am going to have a hard time accepting this without a well planned out road.”

After Tuesday’s hearing, the project is scheduled to come back to the commission in May for another public hearing.

Henry Mayo Expansion

The proposed expansion would re-designate a portion of the Henry Mayo complex to allow for the construction of a second inpatient building measuring 115,700 square-feet in floor area and 80 feet in height, a new diagnostics and treatment facility measuring 84,300 square feet in floor area and 60 feet in height, and an expansion to the existing parking structure with an additional 292 new spaces measuring 40 feet high.

According to information provided to the City, upgrading the existing beds within the Main Hospital Building to meet current and future standards from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development and Americans with Disabilities Act would result in much higher costs than just accomplishing these requirements via new construction. 

 The listed objectives of the new inpatient tower project include:

• Helping meet the health care needs of Santa Clarita Valley’s existing population and planned future population growth.
• Allow the hospital to apply for State-required approvals to continue expanding HMNH in a long-term plan.
• Enhance HMNH to provide patients with personalized care, state-of-the-art medical technology, and a professional staff within a single campus environment.
• Accommodate expansion that would bring two new buildings online over time as needed while ensuring the continuance of existing operations.
• Establish a campus that would attract and retain physician specialists and establish Centers of Excellence, which are defined as highly specialized health care services via physician or hospital authorized providers or hospital collaboration around a disease category.
• Develop a medical campus designed with patients in mind by linking inpatient services and medical buildings in a single setting, providing safe access and transit opportunities.
• Minimize visual impacts of the HMNH campus using enhanced building design and landscaping and focusing more intensive development near the center of the site.

The current main hospital would be converted to office, administrative, and other support uses. 

Structures included in the proposal would be consistent with the height and size of other existing structures located on the campus. All lighting on the subject property is required to be shielded and directed downward, thereby minimizing light spillover onto residential areas within the area.

Disturbances caused by construction activities would not be substantial and not lead to any annoyance or structural damage for structures in the area, officials determined.

The full agenda for Tuesday’s meeting can be found here.

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