A plan to annex Tesoro del Valle into the city of Santa Clarita has taken another step forward.

The Santa Clarita Planning Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday night to recommend that the City Council move ahead on annexation.

Specifically, the commission said the council should amend the city’s General Plan to include the Tesoro del Valle and West Hills communities as part of its move to incorporate the 2,800-acre area.

Tesoro del Valle and surrounding areas, located between Lockheed Industrial Park and San Francisquito Creek and northeast of the Valencia Industrial Center, contains 2,150 homes, a 74,000-square-foot commercial center and three schools.

A large majority of residents — 83 percent — voted in favor of annexation in 2009.

In May, the city polled residents to see what they thought of the move. A higher majority, 92 percent, supported annexation.
While residents approved becoming a part of the city, the area’s movers and shakers are opposed to it.

Rick Ryan, president of the Tesoro del Valle Homeowners Association, said the HOA board of directors recognizes the probability of the community annexing, but board members would like the construction of the community to be complete before annexation is pursued by the city.

In a letter to the city opposing annexation now, the board said it wanted the move delayed “because of the importance of completing the master-planned development.”

Montalvo Properties LLC, owner of the remaining 1,268 acres of undeveloped land in the area, also opposes annexation.

A date has not yet been set for the Santa Clarita City Council to consider the Planning Commission’s recommendation.