FivePoint Holdings, LLC (NYSE: FPH) on Wednesday appluaded the re-approval of Newhall Ranch by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The plan had been stymied by a 2015 California Supreme Court decision rejecting the environmental impact report.
CDFW certified the Additional Environmental Analysis for the project and re-approved the Newhall Ranch Resource Management and Development Plan and Spineflower Conservation Plan. This action is an important step forward for Newhall Ranch, a community proposed for the Santa Clarita Valley by FivePoint, owner and developer of mixed-use master-planned communities in coastal California.
The Additional Environmental Analysis ensures the protection of the unarmored threespine stickleback fish in the Santa Clara River during project construction and provides for the implementation of Net Zero Newhall – FivePoint’s innovative commitment to reduce to zero all project-related greenhouse gas emissions – as a core element of the Newhall Ranch project.
Today’s announcement by CDFW confirmed that the proposal “…will be the largest net zero GHG emissions project in the nation.” In a supporting letter, the California Air Resources Board also noted that the Net Zero Newhall plan “…will not result in any net additional greenhouse gas emissions after the identified mitigation measures are fully implemented.”
“We are excited about today’s decision from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to re-approve Newhall Ranch, one of the most environmentally responsible projects in the nation, and we are grateful for the hard work and creativity of our team and our partners,” said Emile Haddad, chairman and CEO of FivePoint. “The housing, jobs and open space benefits from this project are significant. We look forward to going before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors next month for final re-approval of our first two villages, Landmark and Mission, and look forward to the courts ultimately confirming our plans for living and working sustainably in California.”
