Supporters of the Santa Clarita Open Space Initiative have created an informative website to help make it easier to find information on this important initiative at http://www.scvsaveopenspace.org/.The Open Space Initiative would allow the City of Santa Clarita to buy up open space land within a 3-mile radius of the City limits to preserve as open space territory. This would in effect stop the bulldozing of the ridgelines around the Santa Clarita Valley in areas where the City is able to buy up these open spaces.The cost to the residents is $25 per year for the next 30 years, with a maximum increase of $1 per year for the typical homeowner. After 30 years, the initiative must again be presented to the residents for a vote. This cost will be added to the annual property tax bill.Some peo... 05/17/2007

Interested in buying a home in the Saugus area of Santa Clarita? In the upper $600k price range? Need Rv? Want View? Want Flag Lot!? I have the home for you! I just listed one of the best located homes in Saugus, situated in the Mountain View Homes tract. I am telling you guys this is one of the nicest listings of the year! ENORMOUS RV or boat access, views for FOREVER, and a backyard suited well for large gatherings. I supposed I should mentioned this Mountain View Home was built in 1987, its a 4 bed 3 bath, 2214 sq ft, and extremely turn-key!To veiw more details on this new real estate listing in the city of Santa Clarita (Saugus area)....click the following link to view photos and virtual tour: SAUGUS, CA REAL ESTATE LISTING. Remember...when buying or selling Santa Clarita real estat... 05/16/2007

The Santa Clarita Rotary Club completed a project at Old Orchard Elementary School in Newhall earlier this week. The dedication ceremony took place at the school Wednesday morning, May 16, 2007, at the school.The Rotary Club project, chaired by Nick Lentini, included fencing in a grassy area and donating various types of equipment for the children to use.The children who will benefit from this project are all special needs children, including children with autism, cerebal palsy, and other severe disabilities.The principal of Old Orchard Elementary, Ruth Gauthier, was on hand for the dedication ceremomy. She presented Nick Lentini with a certificate of recognition and thanked him for the donation of the fencing and the equipment. Gauthier told the teachers, parents, and community members... 05/16/2007

             A roof over your head is important but if that roof is made from wood shake it may not be safe. This is especially true if you live in a high fire risk area, such as Santa Clarita. In this area wood shake roofs are typically banned even if they have been treated with a fire retardant. Over a period of time the fire retarding material will wear away, rendering the roof unprotected during the intense heat generated by a fire.            There are many kinds of roof covering s used on homes and commercial buildings. The most popular choice is composition shingle. It is very durable, inexpensive, and may be made with some recycled materials. It comes in many colors and is not easily damaged if it is walked on. The only problem is that it will blow off rather easily during high ... 05/15/2007

At the most recent homeowner's association meeting the residents questioned the board about the possibility of becoming a gated community. The board members stated that it would be next to impossible for us to gate our community because of the streets. They are currently publicly owned and would have to be deeded back to the community if we were to put up a gate of any kind. Does anyone know more about how to deal with this situation?  05/15/2007

The weather was very warm over the past week but now it has promised to be a little cooler for the next few days. I'm not quite ready for summer, especially when the calendar still tells us it is Spring. I really cannot complain. Santa Clarita has one of the best climates in the United States. Living here is like living in a little piece of paradise. We are able to walk, ride bicycles, and just be out among the friendly residents of our city at any time. I am truly blessed to be living in Plum Canyon in Santa Clarita. 05/14/2007

Call me for your handyman needs in the Santa Clarita Valley. I serve the communities of Canyon Country, Saugus, Valencia, Newhall, Stevenson Ranch, Sand Canyon, and Castaic. My specialties include light plumbing, painting (both inside and out), ceramic tile installation and repair, hardwood floors, other flooring, and any other small jobs you have around your home or office. 05/14/2007

I love living here in the Plum Canyon neighborhood in Santa Clarita, California. The weather is perfect (except for a few days in August), the people are friendly, and there are so many opportunities to do charitable work.The only problem is that crime is on the rise and my street has been one of the hardest hit in the past two months. Here is an article from The Signal about this growing problem.http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=48308&format=html 05/14/2007

We have had several cars broken into and homes burglarized since November, 2006. Last night another car window was shattered and items were stolen out of the glove box. The owner heard the alarm but didn't see who had done this. We are having our first Neighborhood Watch meeting on Wednesday evening, May 16. 05/14/2007

I hike every weekend with my kids. We've got lots of great places to hike around Southern California. It's a good workout. It gets me alone with my kids for hours at a time. And it allows me to take some photos, which I love to do. I usually focus on the big picture - panoramas, the mountains and trails. Yesterday, I decided I'd test my favorite little point and shoot out on the details. The photos below were taken during a hike at Placerita Canyon Natural Area using the automatic preset for flowers that is built into the Kodak V705. I used the full zoom in each of the photos. As you can see, I was able to capture some very small Red Spiders and an active Bee. These are linked to their larger images on Localism.com. Could I have gotten better photos with my Canon EOS Digital SLR? Probab... 05/14/2007

Since moving to the Santa Clarita valley last year I have discovered many wonderful places. One of them is the Performing Arts Center at the College of the Canyons. There are performances of all types going on regularly throughout the year. This coming Tuesday, May 15, the Air Force Band will be playing. This performance id free and begins at 7:30. You can check the schedule for all of the upcoming performances at http://www.canyonspac.com 05/13/2007

Buying real estate in Santa Clarita, California continues to be a great value. The communities that make up Santa Clarita, including Saugus, Valencia, Newhall, and Canyon Country are beautiful areas that families can thrive in easily. The schools in Santa Clarita are among the best in California and many people purchase real estate in Santa Clarita, California to be able to send their children to these schools. 05/11/2007

So you've scheduled the appointment with the Appraiser to have your home appraised.  What should you do prior to the inspection, to maximize your value and possibly save some money as well?In the days prior to the appraisal inspection, do a home inventory of all the repairs you've made since you bought the home include (copies of receipts if you have them) or your contractors estimates/ cancelled checks for major improvements.  If you cant find the paperwork list them down with your best estimate for each. We recommend you bullet point all of these improvements and repairs on a piece of paper and present it to the appraiser when he/she first walks in.  This will assure that the Appraiser doesn't miss anything and will speed up the appraisal inspection.  Get copies of "signed off: permit... 05/10/2007

The rumors have been flying for a while now about the corner near the Magic Mountain entrance at the Old Road. Grading has been done, the gas station has been moved, and the freeway interchange has been upgraded. The rumor was that this entrance area was to become a new entertainment destination similar to the City Walk in Universal City.According to Lennar, the builder for this site, this is not going to be a City Walk type development. The current construction is simply two office buildings that will add about 200,000 square feet of office space to the area. There is a Regional Planning Commission (RPC) meeting on this project scheduled for May 16, 2007. Lennar expects to break ground on these buildings in June or July, with about 12-18 months to complete this first phase. These will ... 05/03/2007

The unincorporated areas of Santa Clarita Valley will soon be seeing more deputies patrolling their areas.Supervisor Antonovich worked to increase the overall police presence in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, and will be adding 105 deputies starting with the new fiscal year, according to Los Angeles County representatives at the West Ranch Town Council meeting last night.Of these 105 deputies, 9 will be allocated to the unincorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley, and 2 of those will be patrolling the Stevenson Ranch and Sunset Pointe areas.These new deputies will start with the beginning of the County's new fiscal year, which is July 1, 2007.Linda SlocumSantaClaritaRealEstateBlog.comHoneyStartPacking.com 05/03/2007

 On the door of every LAPD police car are the words "To Protect and To Serve", but in the case of former LAPD officer turned Realtor, Connor MacIvor, these words represent a duty beyond that of a law enforcement officer.  For him, these are words that describe his work ethic, dedication, and commitment to his real estate clients.Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Realtor Connor MacIvor of Re/Max in Santa Clarita.  This was my first time meeting a fellow Active Rain blogger, and it was a great experience.  Within a few minutes Connor and I connected like old friends, we swapped stories from our previous careers, we discussed many of the articles and products that we've read about on AR, and we talked about our respective business models.  If you didn't know any better, it would... 04/28/2007

I am a Real Estate Broker as well as a California State Certified Residential Appraiser. I live in Saugus, part of the city of Santa Clarita, California. I have been selling real estate since 1983. In 1989 I became an appraiser. I have owned my own company, Greenhouse, since 1990. Prior to that I worked for Gribin von Dyl Real Estate and worked for one year as a Right of Way appraiser for the Department of Transportation, dealing with eminent domain issues. 04/28/2007

In an effort to stem the tide of "overcrowded" homes in the Santa Clarita area, the city's Code Enforcement personnel will begin doing sweeps of Santa Clarita neighborhoods looking for illegal garage conversions. This is in response to an escalating number of complaints that as many as 10-20 people are living in some of the area's homes, which can create a neighborhood nuisance with the extra cars, piles of trash, noise and traffic that this overcrowding can generate. Click here for more information on these sweeps and what areas will be covered.This is just a reminder to make sure that you know whether additions to a home or garage conversions were legally done (as in done with permits) before you buy a home. Although you may have already fallen in love with the home, and may choose to... 04/28/2007

Federal immigration sweeps started in the Santa Clarita area this week and are expected to continue through the weekend. These sweeps are part of the Federal Homeland Security Act to increase border enforcement activities.While these sweeps are targeted towards finding known fugitives who have ignored previous deportation orders, there will likely be others picked up in these sweeps who are in the United States illegally as well. According to the Daily News, it's not known whether the known fugitives were wanted for crimes other than for ignoring deportation orders.The "Operation Return to Sender" program was started in May 2006 and has apprehended more than 18,000 fugitives since that time, according to Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  04/28/2007

The Santa Clarita Sanitation District is upping the ante for the removal of all residential rock salt and potassium chloride based water softeners, with increased rebates and free removals by qualified plumbers. These rebates can range from about $325 to as high as $2,000.Why the sudden offer of free money? The Sanitation District is facing the prospect of being forced to build a new water treatment facility to reduce the salt (chloride) content of its waste water if it doesn't find ways to reduce it at its source, and the water softeners are some of the most easily-identified (and easily corrected) source of chloride in the local waste water.Click here for more information on the new "Take the Rebate and Run" program!Linda SlocumSantaClaritaRealEstateBlog.com 04/27/2007