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Stalled 20,000 Home Project On Ventura/Los Angeles Line Gets Key Approval To Advance

A state agency has approved a key environmental plan needed for a controversial housing development on the Ventura-Los Angeles County line to proceed.

The massive Newhall Ranch Project has been stalled because of State Supreme Court order saying that two aspects of the project needed more review. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife approved the plan in 2010, but the 2015 court order forced further study.

The Newhall Land and Farming Company proposed changes to deal with concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, as well as new efforts to protect an endangered species of fish on the property. The state agency says after its review, as well as public review, it has re-approved the environmental management plan.

The project calls for building 20,000 homes, seven schools, and four parks on the property, which is just east of the Ventura-Los Angeles County line on both sides of Highway 126.

Ventura County has opposed the project, with one of the big concerns about impacts of the Santa Clara River, which flows from LA County into Ventura County.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.