Is groundbreaking in sight for Newhall Ranch development?

All fierce development battles have to end sometime. This one, which has pitted real estate interests and environmental groups, appears to be drawing to a close. The Newhall Ranch specific plan was approved several years ago, and the project's different phases are currently in the approval process. The Mission Village Component was signed off this week by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. A spokeswoman for Newhall Land Development says that construction could begin within 18 to 24 months. That assumes all the remaining litigation gets cleared. From SCVNews.com:

Mission Village and the other four phases of development were included in the Newhall Ranch Specific Plan that the supervisors approved in 2003. In the years since, development has been delayed by factors including a bankruptcy reorganization of Newhall Land, a recession, several environmental lawsuits and intervention by state and federal agencies that regulate encroachment on the Santa Clara River. Some of the litigation is ongoing. The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity and other environmental groups filed another lawsuit challenging the supervisors' approval of Phase 1, known as Landmark Village. Lauffer said it would not come as a surprise if Tuesday's board decision was followed by another environmental lawsuit.

The final plan calls for construction of 20,000 homes, but the timing might be off. Attention these days is focused on developments closer to urban centers. Of course, who knew that would happen when the Newhall plans were first drawn up all those years ago.