Newhall Land Farming Co

Reacting to disclosures that Newhall Land & Farming destroyed endangered plants on its property, environmental activists and some planners are calling for restrictions on confidentiality agreements that prevent environmental consultants from sharing information with the public.

In an effort to turn support for tree-sitter John Quigley into a broader campaign against sprawl, Santa Clarita environmentalists plan a protest today targeting Newhall Land & Farming Co., which plans to build a 21,600-home subdivision a few miles north of the 400-year-old oak known as "Old Glory." Los Angeles County officials say the tree must be moved to widen Pico Canyon Road, which would provide access to Newhall Ranch and its 70,000 expected residents.

Attorneys for Newhall Land & Farming Co. will meet with prosecutors Monday in an effort to settle a criminal charge the company is facing for bulldozing a streambed on the site of the proposed 21,600-home Newhall Ranch subdivision. The Los Angeles County district attorney charged the company in September with one misdemeanor count of altering a streambed after officials from the California Department of Fish and Game noticed the damage in a flyover of the site near Santa Clarita.

Newhall Land & Farming Co. reported a drop in profit in the second quarter but said it would earn more than expected in 2002 because residential lot sales are at the high end of previous estimates. Net income fell 88% to $9.38 million, or 38 cents per partnership unit, as revenue declined 50% to $52.2 million. The year-earlier results include revenue of $88.1 million related mainly to the sale of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill and its option on 1,800 acres in Colorado, Newhall said.

The Urban Land Institute has named architect and former Ahmanson Land Co. President Donald Brackenbush head of the organization's Los Angeles district council. He succeeds Richard Lawrence as chairman of the land use and planning group. Brackenbush, formerly vice chair of programs for the ULI, is a principal in the real estate advisory firm Goodell Brackenbush and is managing and design partner for a 4,500-acre resort development near LaPaz, Mexico. In his position at Ahmanson Land Co.

About 5,000 homeowners in the Santa Clarita Valley won a $41-million settlement Friday against Newhall Land & Farming Co. and other developers for damage caused when cheap, galvanized steel pipes rusted and leaked inside their new homes. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Peter D. Lichtman approved the class-action settlement involving 41 defendants--ranging from the developers and home builders to pipe suppliers and plumbing contractors.

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Newhall Land & Farming Co. and the Army Corps of Engineers by environmentalists who said the firm had used noise machines to frighten two species of endangered birds from a construction site. The suit sought a review of a permit issued by the corps that allows Newhall Land to alter the banks of the Santa Clara River for its projects. Federal wildlife officials said Newhall Land used 30 to 40 of the devices, known as hazing machines, along the river.

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Newhall Land & Farming Co. and the Army Corps of Engineers by environmentalists who claimed the firm had used noise machines to frighten two species of endangered birds from a construction site. The suit sought a review of a permit issued by the corps that allows Newhall Land to alter the banks of the Santa Clara River for its projects. U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson dismissed the case Wednesday.

The discovery of 10 endangered toads will have no immediate effect on construction or development projects along the Santa Clara River and its tributaries, federal officials said Tuesday. The new finds, plus disclosure of a little-known 1994 sighting, has triggered a review of the Newhall Land & Farming Co.'s 20-year permit for construction in the area. But the U.S.

The discovery of four endangered toads will have no immediate effect on construction or development projects along the Santa Clara River and its tributaries, federal officials said Tuesday. The new finds, plus disclosure of a little-known 1994 sighting, has triggered a review of Newhall Land & Farming Co.'s 20-year permit for construction in the area. But the U.S.