The city will soon consider annexing Jakes Way, a high-density, relatively high-crime community east of the city limits, as part of the largest annexation effort Santa Clarita has so far undertaken.

Vista Canyon, a mixed-use, residential and commercial project planned for an extension of Lost Canyon Road near Sand Canyon, is making its way through the city’s planning division. Developer Jim Backer hopes it will eventually becoming part of the city.

Residents of the nearby 1,250-home Fair Oaks community south of Vista Canyon also want to be brought into the city’s fold.

Jakes Way is sandwiched between the city’s current boundary and these two developments. The area of multifamily rental housing — bound by Via Princessa to the south, Sierra Highway on the west, Highway 14 on the east and the Santa Clara River on the north — sees more crime than most Santa Clarita neighborhoods.

“It’s actually a fairly high per capita area, with relatively high density development,” city Community Development Director Paul Brotzman said. “While there are more crimes per square mile area, it doesn’t have more crimes per population. It’s not significantly different.”

Because the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission frowns upon “cherry picking” territory to annex, Jakes Way would come along with the Vista Canyon and Fair Oaks package, Brotzman said.

“It does have more complaints than typical streets,” city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz said of Jakes Way, “which is why we really care about it. There’s not a dividing line or an iron curtain” separating the city from Jakes Way.

Ortiz said the problems can be turned around.

Lt. Brenda Cambra of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station said the community doesn’t have outlandish criminal activity.

“The types of criminal activity are no different (compared with) adjacent areas or some of the other areas in the city,” Cambra said. “There are property crimes, family disturbances, neighbor versus neighbor, suspicious persons and loud parties. It’s all relative.”

Brotzman said the city would welcome of Jakes Way since it would have more local control over law enforcement there.

“Frankly, it probably makes sense for the city to bring it in, even if there were or are law enforcement issues in that area, because if you’re a criminal, you don’t look at the city boundary and say, ‘OK, I’m going to commit crimes in unincorporated county.’”

The proposed Vista Canyon project would cover 185 acres west of Sulphur Springs Community Elementary School south of Highway 14. JSB Developers expects to propose 1,350 homes and 950,000 square feet of commercial space, much of it in a mixed-use, town center area, JSB President Backer said.

According to its website, Vista Canyon would contribute $5 million a year in local tax dollars.

The developer is working with the city, not Los Angeles County, to get the project approved. Backer said a public hearing on the project’s environmental review will likely be held in October.

In about six months, the city expects to apply for annexation of Vista Canyon and the surrounding unincorporated area, including Jakes Way. The process takes between 12 and 18 months to complete.

The area the city is eyeing for annexation expands south from the Santa Clara River line and is bound on the west by Sierra Highway and Via Princessa and bleeds into the Sand Canyon neighborhood on the east.

The area is between four and five square miles in size, making it the largest annexation request the city will have filed. The entire city of Santa Clarita is about 54 square miles total, Brotzman said.