This week we will be revisiting some vintage commentaries from the past several years to see if they still resonate today as when they were first published. Some of those opinion pieces will be slightly update; especially the more controversial ones. Several, like this one written in July of 2006 by Ron Mechsner, are especially relevant today.      

Once again, it appears the subject of annexation has risen to the level of a hot issue – particularly with the City of Santa Clarita.

The latest is the recent report that the City is investigating the annexation of the land that Six Flags Magic Mountain has – and to offer a package of incentives to Six Flags to attempt to prevent their inclusion of the park in any capital asset sale intended to reduce the corporate debt.

One has to wonder exactly what kind of incentives can be offered that would sufficiently entice Six Flags to not only not sell the Park, but still achieve their goals of debt reduction. It’s clear that the City is concerned about the economic impact on the Valley if the Park is sold and closes, so they seek to share with Six Flags proceeds from the value that the Park brings the City in such a way that both parties can achieve their goals – a win-win.

If only the City would work with the rest of the West Side with a similar level of consideration to achieve a win-win scenario.

In the past 18 months, annexation discussions have included all / parts of both the Castaic (Valencia Commerce Center / Hasley Hills) and the West Ranch (Six Flags, Westridge, Lyons Canyon) communities. We hear a lot of why these annexations would be good for the City and the One Vision One Valley goal. But what is missing from these discussions is the other side of the win-win equation – What’s in it for the West Side?

In business, whether the transaction is a merger or an acquisition – the discussions all work towards a win-win. Both parties negotiate to a deal / compromise that satisfy each of their goals. If one side doesn’t believe it is getting a fair deal – the discussions reach an impasse and may end.

There have been past attempts at information exchange towards annexation. These get lost in the minutia of comparing County / City services that ultimately are likely to be equivalent or represent minor cost differences. During the latest of these efforts the City just stopped scheduling next step meetings. We hear that any community should be grateful to join the City. We see continued interest in large parts of the West Side – in particular the business and commercial components that generate the revenues the City needs to grow and improve. But the most important part of these past discussions is what has been missing – How does the West Side benefit?

Will the West Side gain a larger voice and a stronger ability to determine their future direction than we have today? Will there be more parks, more recreation facilities, paseos, Mello-Roos relief / compensation, a stronger focus on traffic improvement and safety, better growth management and planning, and other tangible efforts the City could take to use the value brought in by the West Side to benefit both the West Side and the City and not simply deliver what the West Side already has today.

We need to change the tack and tone of the discussions regarding annexation – and start to look at how this option can create a win-win for both the West Side and the City if annexation is to be a viable option for the West Side. Our advantage is that we have self-determination and with it control of our future. We can select the best option that provides us the best return for the value of our community and change only if it is to our benefit.

Ron Mechsner                                                                                                                    Commentary (July, 2006)

Ron Mechsner is a Technology consultant and currently serves on the West Ranch Town Council. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.