PALMDALE : Backup Plan OKd to Limit Ritter Ranch

Los Angeles County supervisors Thursday folded a giant Antelope Valley development into a restrictive community standards district, even though the property already has been annexed by the city of Palmdale, taking it out of county control.

In doing so, the supervisors said they were merely creating a fall-back position that would allow them to limit development on part of Ritter Ranch if the ranch’s neighbors succeed in a lawsuit aimed at invalidating the annexation.

The board had delayed its vote on including Ritter Ranch in the Leona Valley Community Standards District until after a ruling had been made on annexation.

Ritter Ranch developers want to build 7,200 dwellings for about 20,000 residents on 17 square miles of land.

A chunk of the ranchland is in Leona Valley and development is to be clustered on city-style streets on the flatter portions of that land.

The community standards district does not allow such urban development, instead requiring that most lots be a minimum of 2 1/2 acres, unless they are clustered, in which case they could be no smaller than 1 1/2 acres.

At Thursday’s meeting, a Ritter Ranch spokesman told the board it should not vote on the issue because the land is no longer under its jurisdiction.

Supervisor Deane Dana was the only board member who agreed and voted no.

As he left the meeting room, Leona Valley representative Paul Sloane said the vote was an anti-climactic end to four years of fighting to persuade Los Angeles County to block the development.