Press Release
                                          Valley VOTE
        Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment
        14622 Ventura Blvd. #424, Sherman Oaks, CA. 91403
        November 17, 2007          Contact:Joe Vitti -President
         javittisr@cs.com                             (818) 366-1668

The Valley VOTE Board of Directors has overwhelmingly approved the following motion:

Valley VOTE opposes the Las Lomas Development Project. This project, which will be about twice the size of the Ahmanson Ranch on about one quarter of the land, is planned for an unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County located north of the San Fernando Valley, east of the 5 and north of the 14 freeways.
The impact of this massive development will have a detrimental impact on business and the quality of life for the residents of the Valley, particularly the communities of Granada Hills and Sylmar. The traffic congestion; the proposed unsafe Metrolink station; the lack of water and sewer capacity; and the overwhelming negative environmental impact in this seismically active region are some of the key issues contributing to the opposition of this development.

Discussion
It should be noted that the first draft of the Las Lomas Development Project prepared for review by the public was dated April 21, 2003, over 4 years ago. Since that time the developer has continued to meet with numerous organizations and elected officials. Continuing modifications to major elements have been made as questions were raised about the feasibility of the conceptual design of the project. One example had to do with the new metro rail station added to accommodate the residents of the project. The developer proposed a 300 foot underground station serviced by elevators. This unsafe approach has now been eliminated by the developer. A shuttle system is now planned to transport residents to the existing metro rail stations. This change has not altered Valley VOTE's view of the project.

Las Lomas is opposed by the federal, state, and county representatives that have jurisdiction over the project's location. They include Congressman Buck McKeon, Congressman Brad Sherman, County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, and California Assemblyman Cameron Smyth.

The City of Santa Clarita, located just north of the project, opposes the development.

In December of 2006 the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) terminated the developer's annexation request to the city of Los Angeles because of deficiencies associated with their application.
Approval by LAFCO is a necessary step in the process for the unincorporated area of the county to become part of the city of Los Angeles.

North Valley Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils oppose the project in addition to the many nearby Town Councils in Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Greig Smith and former Councilmember Alex Padilla continue to oppose Las Lomas.

President Joe Vitti of Valley VOTE commented, "Las Lomas appears to have incorporated many smart-growth features into its conceptual design. However, a very poor location has been chosen to build the project, resulting in overwhelming negative environmental and traffic impacts".


Valley VOTE Mission Statement
Valley VOTE, a diverse coalition of San Fernando Valley residents, business people, educators, community activists, and organizations, is committed to exploring and fostering the implementation of programs that empower the people of the San Fernando Valley and the City of Los Angeles, to improve local governance, education and public participation on policy matters.

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