Results tagged “dan palmer” from Ron Kaye L.A.

It seems like just a month ago that I wrote that the 5,500-home Las Lomas project in unincorporated Sylmar between Santa Clarita and Los Angeles died a quiet death.

Judge David Yaffe threw out Las Lomas' $100 million lawsuit against L.A. Dan Palmer, the driving force behind the project, resigned as president of company. Hillary Orozco Norton, the firm's lobbyist, had moved from living off of overdevelopment that creates traffic congestion to living off the Measure R sales tax that's supposed to relieve traffic congestion.

Well, it was only a month ago. But tme flies and Las Lomas has appealed Yaffe's decision, presumably hoping L.A.'s money will provide the funding for the project when nobody's lending and nobody's buying homes.

"We believe our claims are meritorious and are convinced that there are fundamental legal issues that must be resolved by the Court of Appeal," said Carlyle W. Hall, Jr., counsel for Las Lomas.

"We were disappointed in the court's decision for ourselves, for the residents of Southern California, and for all those who recognize that the City Council broke the law. We are confident that the Court of Appeal will recognize that the City must answer for its illegal
decision to halt its review of the Las Lomas Project."  Las Lomas Appeals Trial Court.doc

After years of controversy and millions spent on lobbying and public relations, the Las Lomas project -- 5,500 homes, a hotel and 2 million square feet of commercial space -- has died a quiet day. There are few, if any, mourners.

On Thursday, Dan Palmer, the driving force behind the controversial project just outside the city limits north of the Valley, resigned as president of the Las Lomas Land Co. Hillary Orozco Norton, his staff lobbyist, already had left to ply her trade in the lucrative arena created by passage last month of the the half-cent sales tax increase for transportation project.

Then, on Friday, a judge threw out Las Lomas' $100 million lawsuit against the city.

It was a victory for community groups that mobilized to fight against the development when it appeared to be headed on the fast-track to city approval.

Northwest Valley Councilman Greig Smith, who championed their cause, announced the court ruling today.

"I am delighted that after six years of fighting this ill-conceived project, it appears to be finally dead," Smith said. "This victory is a great holiday gift for the community."

Las Lomss had a lot of momentum going for it, despite the opposition of the City of Santa Clarita,  but Smith won a 10-5 L.A. City Council vote against it, raising issues of public safety, traffic and environment concerns.