Palmdale Approves Construction of 7,200-Unit Community : Development: Officials say builder will contribute $40 million in public amenities. Opponents contend the project will create urban sprawl in a now-pristine area.

Palmdale officials have given their final approval to the planned 7,200-unit, 10,625-acre Ritter Ranch project west of the city, paving the way for what would be one of Southern California’s largest master-planned communities.

By a 4-1 vote late Thursday night, the Palmdale City Council approved a development agreement that will lock in the project’s entitlements for 20 to 25 years in exchange for what city officials called an unprecedented level of amenity contributions by the developer.

Former La Costa resort builders Merv Adelson and Irwin Molasky, the principals in the project, said they hope to begin building residences by next year, although the area first must be annexed to the city. And the project is already the subject of two pending lawsuits by opponents.

“I’ve got to say I feel very good about the development agreement,” said Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, who endorsed the project publicly for the first time Thursday night. “I would defy anybody to show me a better agreement anywhere in the state.”

“We’re excited. It was a major step in our dealings with the city. The development agreement is a win-win situation,” said Peter Wenner, project manager for development entity Ritter Park Associates, which has been pursuing the project for more than three years.

Ritter Ranch, if it proceeds, would transform a largely rural and sparsely populated area west of Palmdale into a mini-city within 20 years. The project would add about 17 square miles and 20,000 residents to a city that now has about 80 square miles and 78,000 residents.

Under the agreement, city officials say, Ritter Ranch is contributing about $40 million worth of park and recreation facilities, public buildings and transportation projects beyond normal requirements. Ritter Ranch officials put the value of these projects at a higher $60-million figure.

But opponents, mainly residents in the areas targeted for development, contend the project will bring urban sprawl to a now-pristine area filled with meadows, hillsides and ranches and flood the already crowded Antelope Valley Freeway with more commuters.

Opponents may be getting some help soon. After the nearby city of Santa Clarita’s pleas for added traffic improvements went unheeded Thursday, Santa Clarita Mayor Jill Klajic said she plans to urge her City Council later this month to join project foes in their legal fight.

“We’re extremely concerned about what we consider to be the really damaging effects on our traffic down here,” Klajic said.

She said of Palmdale officials: “As long as they get something out of it, they don’t care what happens to the surrounding communities.”

Last month, the Leona Valley Town Council filed a lawsuit challenging Ritter Ranch’s environmental review. This month, that group, the Palmdale Water District and the Antelope Acres Town Council filed another suit challenging the county’s review of the project’s water system.

Palmdale and Ritter Ranch officials say the challenges are without merit. And Wenner said he hopes the project’s annexation to Palmdale will go to the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission before the end of the year. Palmdale city officials’ approval of the project is required before the city can annex the Ritter Ranch property.

Much of the infrastructure work needed to develop the community would be paid for by home buyers there through Mello-Roos tax assessments. That work could cost a total of $130 million, which residents would pay off through added taxes over several decades.

At current prices, Wenner said Ritter Ranch’s houses would range from $125,000 entry-level models to $350,000-plus estates. Ritter Park Associates plans to manage the overall development and do some building, but also would have independent builders provide many houses.

The project site, west of the Antelope Valley Freeway, is located north of the alignment of Avenue T, south of Elizabeth Lake Road, east of Bouquet Canyon Road and west of 35th Street West. It also would be just west of Kaufman and Broad’s planned 5,200-unit City Ranch project.

Newly elected Palmdale Councilman David Myers cast the only dissenting vote Thursday night, citing a forecast that the project would cost the city about $1.5 million a year more in services than revenues by 2010. Ritter Ranch officials disagreed with that analysis.

Provisions of Ritter Ranch Agreement Palmdale promises to:

* Guarantee development rights for the project for the 20- to 25-year duration of the agreemen.

* Support the developer’s efforts to impose Mello-Roos assessments on future home buyers to pay for public improvements.

The developer promises to:

* Dedicate and improve 10 park sites totaling 96 acres.

* Build a public, 18-hole golf course within five years.

* Build a single-story, 16,000-square-foot library on a developer-provided one-acre site, plus provide $250,000 to fund its collection.

* Contribute $4 million toward a new City Hall.

* Build a 5,700-square-foot fire station on a developer-provided site.

* Contribute $1.8 million toward a 400-space park-and-ride lot, $1.25 million toward Elizabeth Lake Road and 58% of the cost of expanding Avenue S to a four-lane road just west of the Antelope Valley Freeway.