Plans to build housing on the former site of a popular twice-weekly Santa Clarita Valley swap meet will pay tribute to its history as Saugus Speedway, city planners announced this week.
The Santa Clarita Planning Commission is scheduled to hear about the two projects at its July monthly meeting on Tuesday.
The first project is a plan for the land currently occupied by the Saugus Swap Meet, and the second is a real estate subdivision in Newhall.
According to the meeting agenda, plans for the Speedway facility call for the construction of “318 residential units and an industrial portion, including approximately 127,000 square feet of light industrial building, within the subject property.”
“The meeting will be an opportunity for local residents and the Planning Commission to be introduced to the project, discuss the project and ask questions of the applicant and staff,” city officials said.
Also on the agenda is for staff to hear feedback about Integral Communities’ plans for the 35-acre site and prepare responses to concerns for the commission’s September meeting.
The district includes four planned housing areas on approximately 28 acres of land, which will feature 122 detached single-family apartment buildings and 196 linked townhouses, with 22 of those designated as low-income housing.
According to the city, “the residential portion will also include several amenities for residents, including a pool, spa, bathrooms, barbecue grills, picnic tables, a dog park, a toddler play area, chess game tables, fire pits and a community garden.”
In the fifth area, the industrial portion would provide 116,790 square feet of light industrial or warehouse space and 10,000 square feet of office/mezzanine space, with a maximum building height of 39 feet.
Doug Bonelli, who is currently listed as the owner of the swap meet land, said earlier this month that he could only guarantee the outdoor market would operate through the end of July.
The agenda will include a brief history of the Bonelli family’s longstanding involvement with the property.
Formerly known as Saugus Speedway, the site dates back to 1926, when the first rodeo was held there.
That continued into the 1950s, but in 1939 auto racing on the dirt track also became a local tradition.
The stadium was paved in 1956, but the bleachers were deemed unsafe after the 1994 earthquake and were later demolished.
“While the subject property has a diverse background as an entertainment venue, the Saugus Speedway site is not designated as a historic site under the City of Santa Clarita Historic Preservation Ordinance,” officials said. “The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society provided a letter of commendation to the applicant for including in the project design a tribute to Saugus Speedway, including naming a residential street after the legendary racing driver and incorporating the checkered flag’s color scheme into the community park.”
Site preparation and grading is expected to begin in late 2024 and be completed by December 2025, with building construction beginning in 2026 and taking more than four to five years, according to documents in city meeting minutes.
In a statement, the South Coast Air Quality Management Agency expressed concern that the project’s industrial component would generate approximately 600 truck trips daily. “The operation will be in close proximity to existing and new sensitive land uses, generating and attracting large diesel-fueled trucks that emit diesel particulate matter,” the agency said. “When the health impacts from the proposed project are added to the existing context, existing and new residents living in the surrounding areas will likely face additional exposure to air pollution and bear a disproportionate burden of increased health risks.”
Old Orchard Center
The Newhall subdivision on the agenda is a request by Intertex Corp. to split its Old Orchard Center land, a roughly 10-acre commercial site, into two parcels.
No new development or construction is proposed.
Such subdivisions are often part of an effort to make properties easier to sell, but that is not specified on the agenda.
