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June 29, 2010· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

Annexation Update: Tesoro, West Creek, West Hills

By NickelDime — John B.

Dear City of Santa Clarita,

I’m glad you got my note! I got your reply today and I’m excited about our next steps together on July 20th.

And I didn’t realize Tesoro and a slice of West Hills were outside the City Sphere of Influence – that makes this whole thing that much sweeter (eat your heart out, Dave Bossert)!

Love always,

Tesoro, West Hills, West Creek

ps Don’t let the haters get you down!

West Creek/Tesoro Annexation – Notice of Hearing

And if you enjoy a spot of cartography served with a side of LAFCO legalese, spend some time on this bad boy (courtesy Santa Clarita Planning):

West Creek Tesoro Initial Study

Comments (27)

  1. mikeJune 29, 2010 at 7:21 pm
    John, I’m making you a bouquet of spineflowers to celebrate!
  2. IHeartSCVJune 29, 2010 at 7:48 pm
    I wish I could share your enthusiasm, but the proposed annexation area looks like a large tumor growing on Santa Clarita’s already misshapen northern border. [Interesting side-note: "tesoro del valle" means "tumor of the north" in Spanish]. Is there any way Santa Clarita can annex more aesthetically pleasing chunks of land?
  3. IHeartSCVJune 29, 2010 at 8:06 pm
    “If the City can’t annex the ones they want, they should want the one they can annex.” Hahaha! Wonderful!
  4. drive66June 29, 2010 at 8:54 pm
    LOL, “Tumor Of The North” It means “Treasure Of The Valley”.
  5. CoastalSageJune 30, 2010 at 6:17 am
    IHeart: That bulb at the top of the annexation area is, I believe, the as-yet undeveloped portion of the Tesoro del Valle project. I believe the entity which owns that land is Tesoro SF, LLC, a Chapter 11 debtor in the Orange County bankruptcy court. There is a vicious court fight going on in that bankruptcy court between the mortgage lender on the property, an affiliate of Lehman Brothers, and the minority owner of the property owner, an entity controlled by The SunCal Companies. It will be interesting to see whether either side goes screaming to the bankruptcy court complaining that the city cannot annex the property while the owner is in bankruptcy.
  6. ZephyrJune 30, 2010 at 6:54 am
    Wow, just wow. Iheart where do you get your information? The “owners” of Tesoro are Montalvo Properties which in turn is owned by the family that owns Farmer John. SunCal is indeed in BK, but they were the developer, not the owner. A little fact checking would be helpful. And for the record, Tesoro Del Valle, as noted previously, means Treasure of the Valley. Your humor, or lack thereof, and lack of due diligence is not appreciated.
  7. IHeartSCVJune 30, 2010 at 7:37 am
    Speaking of “due diligence”, Zephyr, you may notice that it was CoastalSage, not me, who made the comments about Tesoro ownership.
  8. mikeJuly 1, 2010 at 10:08 pm
    Dear IHeart, close one, eh? Mike
  9. IHeartSCVJuly 2, 2010 at 7:02 am
    Yes, congrats. I am planning a summer rafting trip to brush up on geography.
  10. ZephyrJune 30, 2010 at 8:17 am
    I stand corrected. Pls accept my apologies.
  11. Tim MyersJune 30, 2010 at 8:38 am
    ND: We, of the politically powerful nexus of Northbridge, Northbridge Pointe, and Northpark, welcome our brethren to the immediate north, no matter how misshapen. Join us in our march to burn to the foundations the former power centers of Sand Canyon and Placerita Canyon!
  12. KellyJune 30, 2010 at 9:19 am
    I wonder what Dave Bossert’s response to this will be when he gets back from Maine? Oh wait, let me guess… He might liken these communities as being lead into ruin and decay because they are annexing into Santa Clarita and leaving the warm embrace of L.A. county. Forsooth, For Shame, Poor Misbegotten suburbs housing tracts!!! (Getting ready for The Tempest at Towsley next month ;o)
  13. Tim MyersJune 30, 2010 at 10:27 am
    I think master DB was OK with it originally until he got the “No Surrender” memo from his patron, Mike Antonovich, and he put the kneepads back on!
  14. navigatorJune 30, 2010 at 9:22 am
    IHeart – Your Espanol needs a little refreshing. Thanks Drive66
  15. mikeJune 30, 2010 at 9:29 am
    Can no one take a joke? Either way, “treasure of the valley” is an inaccurate description, but it sounds better than “Parasitic McMansions”.
  16. drive66June 30, 2010 at 3:01 pm
    Having only lived in SCV for 2 years, I don’t understand the hatred towards Tesoro Del Valle, what gives?
  17. Tim MyersJune 30, 2010 at 3:03 pm
    Its just teasing for the younger sibling. That’s all.
  18. mikeJune 30, 2010 at 3:04 pm
    These are jokes, that’s all.
  19. KellyJune 30, 2010 at 9:59 am
    I can take and give a joke, Mike. Thanks for the translation of Tesoro del Valle, I thought it meant “20 minutes to the freeway”!
  20. drive66June 30, 2010 at 2:57 pm
    I’m 10 minutes from the freeway and I love it! You know what it sounds like in my neck of the woods…quiet.
  21. CoastalSageJune 30, 2010 at 11:58 am
    Zephyr and IHeartSCV: From the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Central District of California: Tesoro SF, LLC – Case 8:08-bk-17575-ES (Santa Ana), Docket #15, filed 12/15/08, Debtor’s Schedule A (Real Estate Owned in Fee) approximately 185 acres in Santa Clarita, County of Los Angeles, State of California; Debtor’s Schedule D, first lien mortgage Lehman Ali, Inc. (not bankrupt) 1271 6th Avenue, 46th Floor, NY, NY 10020 “Amount of Claim” $20,562,440.75. The debtor’s LLC manager didn’t bother to include the property’s Assessor’s Parcel Number or a legal description in the filing. See main case document covering the Tesoro SF, LLC bankruptcy as well as related cases: http://www.scribd.com/doc/31010391/SunCal-Writ-of-Attachment-May-2010 Tesoro SF, LLC, SunCal (as a generic name) and several Montalvo entities show up, separately, as property owners within a joint County/City bridge and thoroughfare assessment district which was being created in 2008. See: http://file.lacounty.gov/bos/supdocs/40175.pdf From the address list on that document, this looks like the Assessor Parcel Number for the Tesoro SF, LLC property 3244-039-020. There are several Montalvo parcels listed as well, very close to Tesoro SF, LLC’s number. From the maps in that County report, it’s pretty clear that the Tesoro SF, LLC 185 acre property is probably within the annexation area. Throughout the transcripts of this massive bankruptcy case, the property is referred to as part of Tesoro del Valle. Whether a “Montalvo” entity or the family Zephyr says owns it has a trade name registered for the name “Tesoro del Valle” is up to Zephyr to enlighten us on, since he/she obviously is sensitive about who uses the name. No offense intended Zephyr. I do check my facts very carefully, as you can see from the bankruptcy court information above. The point of my comment was that it is going to be interesting to see if the bankruptcy court can/will interfere with the city’s annexation of the 185 acres owned by Tesoro SF, LLC. P.S. Anyone want to pay $20 Million for this 185 acres?
  22. Tim MyersJuly 1, 2010 at 5:19 pm
    CS: Is it true that a bankruptcy judge has no authority to issue injunctions to anyone that is not a party to the bankruptcy? I remember back in the 1980′s during the farm foreclosure crisis a populist that was interfering with bankruptcy-ordered farm auctions was jailed by a bankruptcy judge for contempt but then released because only an Article III judge had that authority. Is that still the case? I think at the least the City would have to be or be made a party to the bankruptcy for the court to act.
  23. CoastalSageJuly 2, 2010 at 7:35 pm
    Tim: The U.S. Trustee’s Offices in the 9th Circuit believe what you say is true, other than the general injunction under “the automatic stay”, Bankruptcy Code Section 362. A reporter friend sent me a whole long set of pleadings on just that issue last week, attacking an “injunction against the universe” which is part of the Chapter 11 Plan in a case called Black Gaming. However, the reality is that these sweeping injunctions protecting the officers, employees, agents and owners of debtor entities from future claims and litigation for wrongdoing are a part of most sophisticated Chapter 11 Plans. The one in the LandSource/Newhall Land Chapter 11 Plan is a whopper.
  24. KellyJune 30, 2010 at 12:20 pm
    Wow, you are my kind of driver, ND!! What do you and your neighbors up in them thar West Hills think about the annexation?
  25. KellyJune 30, 2010 at 7:02 pm
    Gee, thanks for the insight, N.D., and I welcome you from the flatlands of Old Orchard and Lyons. I had forgotten they redid the freeway up there, I don’t go north of the mall very often. If you’re happy, I’m happy. It’s amazing how riled up folks are about the Parks and Rec fee.
  26. KonradJuly 1, 2010 at 9:09 am
    I live in Tesoro, and Everyone I have talked to is more than happy to be annexed. I too want a say in what happens in our community, I am happy about losing the non-resident fee I have to pay in order to participate in the Seasons offerings. Currently we are treated like the Red headed step children of the city and county, no love only words that fall flat. So thank you Santa Clarita, and Annex away!!
  27. Tim MyersJuly 1, 2010 at 5:20 pm
    Welcome Konrad! We are happy to welcome the humble and level-headed folk of Tesoro to the City!

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