Smith and Smyth urge criminal probe over Las Lomas land ownership

Continuing fallout today over The Signal’s revelations last week that Dan Palmer -the developer of the controversial 5,500 home project in the Newhall Pass- does not own all the land he hopes to build on. Today, Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith and Santa Clarita Assemblyman Cameron Smyth called for “two law-enforcement agencies to determine whether a real estate developer perjured himself in public documents submitted on behalf of the project,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

Recall that The Signal reported last Friday that at least six parcels of land in the proposed project area were owned by a Van Nuys man, while much of the rest of the territory was owned by Palmer Investments.

In a followup article earlier this week, The Signal reported that the Van Nuys man, Frank McHaddad, had some agreements with the developer to sell his land to Palmer and that he had endorsed the project.

Nevertheless, according to The Signal, documents filed with County planning authorities indicated that Palmer owned all the land.

That, according to The Times, is the basis for Smith and Smyth’s call for a criminal investigation:

Six of the 14 parcels on the Las Lomas site are owned by Van Nuys resident Fred McHaddad — a fact that should have been disclosed in the permit application submitted by Palmer to the city and county of Los Angeles, according to the two politicians.

“The question is, what other laws other than perjury - it appears to be perjury - were broken?” said Smith’s chief of staff, Mitch Englander. The councilman planned to ask Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley and state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to launch a probe.

Assemblyman Smyth is also concerned that Palmer may have attempted to defraud McHaddad out of his property, according to the Times.

A spokesperson for the Palmer Investment company says Smith and Smyth are trying to “smear” the firm.

McHaddad, 77, was described as distraught and crying in one of the Signal’s articles and apparently refused to talk to the Daily News about the same topic. In the Daily News report, McHaddad says Palmer hadn’t authorized him to speak to the press, though he has spoken to The Signal at least twice.

The Las Lomas project would be built in mountainous terrain east of Interstate 5 and south of Newhall. The 555 acre project would contain between 4,500 and 5,500 homes in dense pattern that the developer has referred to as “smart growth.”

The City of Santa Clarita has opposed the project since the beginning and recently Mayor Bob Kellar attended a meeting in the San Fernando Valley to voice the City’s opposition to the project.
Times, Daily News

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