Sterling Gateway Approved for 222 Homes Near Santa Clarita

Sterling Gateway was approved to build 222 single-family homes in Val Verde, an unincorporated town west of Santa Clarita.

The Utah-based developer won approval from the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors to build Sterling Ranch Estates, a master-planned community along Del Valle Road, the Santa Clarita Signal reported.

Plans call for 222 homes on quarter-acre lots within a 114-acre development next to the 1.5 million-square-foot Sterling Gateway business park and northwest of the Valencia Commerce Center. The homes will include four traditional styles, according to renderings.

The six-phase project would include lots for public facilities and a homeowners association, a 3.4-acre park, a 21,000-square-foot retail center, plus 38 acres of open space.

Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger voted to approve the project on the condition that future buyers be told of its proximity to a nearby landfill. The developer must also install Hepa 11 or better filters in AC/heating systems.

“Potential homebuyers should have access to thorough and transparent information about the property they’re looking to purchase — no surprises,” Barger told the Signal in an email.

Chiquita Canyon Landfill, south of Val Verde, has had dozens of violations since July, when a smoldering subsurface reaction from decades-old garbage improperly managed by the landfill’s former operators began to emit a sulphuric stench throughout Castaic.

The Sterling Ranch Estates was approved Aug. 30 by the Department of Regional Planning on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Elvin Moon dissenting over questions about the lack of affordable housing.

Hunt Williams, whose family owns the property, said the project was entitled years before a housing shortage prompted lawmakers to require affordable housing. He pledged to donate $4,000 per home to the Family Promise of SCV and Bridge to Home nonprofits.

Sterling Gateway, founded in 1999 by the late Theodore “Ted” Sterling, is owned by his two daughters and six grandchildren, including Williams, according to its website.

— Dana Bartholomew