Santa Clarita Agrees to $2.7-Million Retail Lure

The Santa Clarita City Council, eager to generate new sales tax revenue, agreed Tuesday night to underwrite $2.7 million in road improvements as part of a financial aid package to bring the Price Club discount house to the city.

The council voted 3 to 2, with Councilwomen Jan Heidt and Jill Klajic dissenting.

Klajic complained that a full environmental impact report was not prepared for the project and Heidt, a bookstore owner, said the Price Club could cripple local small businesses because the 100,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open before Christmas.

“You’re going to wipe me out of business,” Heidt said.

But Councilman Howard P. (Buck) McKeon said the Price Club would benefit the community, adding that many cities compete to attract such retailers.

City officials have tried to lure a major retailer to Santa Clarita ever since the mostly bedroom community incorporated in 1987.

City residents have often complained that they have to travel to the San Fernando Valley to shop.

The agreement, under negotiation since last summer, involves the city, the Price Co. and CP Shopping Center Partners, an affiliate of First Financial Corp. Inc.

Under the agreement, the 56-acre commercial site, located in unincorporated county territory, would be annexed by the city.

The Price Co. will purchase 14 acres of the site from First Financial for about $7.3 million.

The Price Co. will lend Santa Clarita $2.7 million to make road improvements near the site, located along Via Princessa between Sierra Highway and the Antelope Valley Freeway.

The city will pay off the debt with 70% of its share of the sales taxes generated by the Price Club, probably in seven years, city officials said. During those seven years, the Price Club is expected to generate $6.25 million in sales taxes for the city.

The deal is similar to a financial aid package the council approved last September to help Newhall Land & Farming Co. launch the long-awaited Valencia Town Center, the first regional shopping mall in the Santa Clarita Valley, which is scheduled to open for business next year.