Agenda Item: 1
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
PUBLIC HEARINGS
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: October 28, 2025
SUBJECT: HASA CERTIFICATION OF REVIEW (MASTER CASE 25-082) DEPARTMENT: Community Development
PRESENTER: Lauren Eber
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Conduct the public hearing.
2. Determine that Master Case 25-082 is exempt from additional review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code of Regs. § 15000, et seq.) Section 15302 as a Class 2 Categorical Exemption.
3. Adopt a resolution approving Master Case 25-082, consisting of Conditional Use Permit 25-008 to operate a new heavy manufacturing use, and Development Review 25-007 and Architectural Design Review 25-006 to partially demolish and remodel two existing, one-story metal industrial buildings at 25710 and 25750 Springbrook Avenue (Assessor’s Parcel Number 2836-007-042) to accommodate the relocation of the Hasa, Inc., one-gallon bottling operations to the new facility, subject to the attached Conditions of Approval (Exhibit A).
BACKGROUND
REQUEST
The Project is a request by Intertex Property Advisors on behalf of Hasa, Inc. (Hasa) for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to operate a heavy manufacturing use at 25710 and 25750 Springbrook Avenue Assessor’s Parcel Number 2836-007-042 (Project Site). In addition, the request includes a Development Review and Architectural Design Review to modernize the two industrial buildings at the Project site and relocate the company’s one-gallon, retail bottling and storage operations to the new facility, located approximately one-tenth of a mile from its current
facility at 23119 Drayton Street. The Project site is zoned Industrial (I) and is located within the Vehicle Services Overlay Zone and the Fire Zone in the community of Saugus. An aerial map, zoning map, site plan, and elevations are attached for reference.
PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION
On September 16, 2025, the City of Santa Clarita’s (City) Planning Commission conducted a public hearing for the Hasa Industrial Renovation Project (Project) under Master Case 25-082.
The Planning Commission voted 3-1 to approve the Project, with two changes to the Conditions of Approval (COA) requested by the applicant: the revision to Condition PL3 corrected a numerical typo, modifying the number of truck trips from nine to ten; the revision to Condition PL7 established an annual production output cap and permit requirements for future cumulative increases in product output. The original Condition PL7 had not provided a mechanism for future product output increases.
The Planning Commission’s approval granted Hasa a CUP to operate a heavy manufacturing use, a Development Review, and an Architectural Design Review to remodel two existing industrial buildings to accommodate the relocation of Hasa’s retail bottling operations. Letters of support were submitted by Bridge to Home and the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce. A certification of review was requested by Mayor Pro Tem Weste on September 26, 2025.
The September 16, 2025, Planning Commission agenda item for this Project is included in City Clerk’s Reading File for reference.
PROJECT SETTING AND DESCRIPTION
Overview
Hasa was established in 1964 and has operated at its Drayton Street location since 1972. The company produces, packages, warehouses, and distributes sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and hydrochloric/muriatic acid (acid) for water treatment and sanitation purposes. Bottling operations at Hasa’s Drayton Street facility currently include packaging one-gallon bottles for sale and distribution to pool supply companies. Larger quantities (5 to 300 gallons) of bleach and acid are also packaged for wastewater treatment operations and other uses.
The Project proposes to relocate Hasa’s one-gallon bottling and warehousing operations for its pool and water treatment products - bleach and acid - from its current Drayton Street facilities to the buildings located at 25710 and 25750 Springbrook Avenue. The buildings along Springbrook Avenue, south of Drayton Street (generally known as the Saugus Station Industrial Center), have historically been home to heavy manufacturing, industrial, automotive, and warehouse uses - many since the mid-1950s. The Project Site, which was built in 1959, was used for decades by Thatcher Glass Company for glass production and storage.
The Project would downsize the footprint of each building by approximately 25 percent.
Building 1 (25750 Springbrook Avenue) would be reduced from 80,000 square feet to 60,269 square feet, and Building 2 (25710 Springbrook Avenue) would be reduced from 75,000 square feet to 56,560 square feet (including a new 1,560 square-foot mezzanine office). The Project
would be built in two phases. At full buildout, Building 1 would house the bottling and storage operations for acid, and Building 2 would house the bottling and storage operations for bleach.
The Drayton Street facility would continue to handle the manufacturing of bleach, as well as the bottling and storage of the 5 to 300-gallon quantities of bleach and acid.
Summary of Operations
Concentrated bleach and acid would each be transported from Hasa’s Drayton Street facility to the Project site in 5,000-gallon tanker trucks. Offloading into outdoor bulk tanks would occur through a closed, ventilated system with vapor capture. Chemicals would be transferred using pumps and diluted with soft water during transfer to achieve safer concentrations before being piped indoors for bottling, packaging, and short-term storage.
The proposed facility would store bleach, acid, and sodium hydroxide (caustic), with bleach and acid kept in separate outdoor tanks spaced 115 feet apart within coated concrete containment structures. Caustic, used for neutralizing acid, would be stored in a 330-gallon tote with an on- site maximum volume of 300 gallons. All packaging would be filled and sealed on bottling lines that include motorized conveyors, a rotary filler, automated cap placement and tightening, washing, inspection, and secondary packaging equipment. Finished goods would be staged within the warehouse, and distribution would occur within two days via freight trailers.
Output and Storage Capacity
The Project is conditioned such that the Springbrook Avenue facility cannot exceed its total annual product output without additional review and approval by the City. More specifically, the new facility is capped at a total annual operational output of 16,160,400 gallons, which represents an average daily operational output of 52,000 gallons of bleach and 8,300 gallons of acid per day. Any future cumulative increase (0 to 50 percent) in the output of bleach and/or acid at the Project site will require a Minor Use Permit, which will include a memo to the Planning Commission and City Council and public noticing for any request. Any cumulative increase in excess of 50 percent would require a CUP to be heard by the Planning Commission.
Jurisdictional Oversight
While the City’s Planning division is responsible for pre-entitlement review of the proposed facility, the City’s Building & Safety division and Engineering Services division are responsible for post-entitlement, review, approval, inspection, and oversight of the Project, along with the Los Angeles County Fire Department Health Hazardous Materials Division (HAZMAT); Los Angeles County Department of Industrial Waste; South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD); and California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA). In this way, the entitlement process for compliance with the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is the first step of the overall review process for the Project.
Security and Chemical Safety
Individually, bleach and acid are corrosive. Occupational Safety and Health Administration considers bleach and acid “category 3” on a corrosivity scale of 1 to 3, with “1” being the most
severe for contact with skin. When mixed, bleach and acid release toxic chlorine gas. The existing production and bottling facilities at Drayton Street store these materials in the same area, approximately three feet apart, which creates potential risk for co-mingling of bleach and acid.
Hasa’s entitlement application asserts that the Project would reduce the risk of these chemicals co-mingling, increase production efficiencies, and add safeguards to protect the health and safety of Hasa employees and the community.
The applicant provided with its entitlement application: 1) an Integrated Contingency Plan that documents protocols and procedures for several incident types, such as chemical spills, fire, earthquakes, and medical emergencies; and 2) a Fire Protection/HAZMAT Report that documents the operations and storage arrangement requirements pertinent to the fire and life safety, and fire protection and HAZMAT guidelines specific to the proposed Springbrook facility.
In the case of a release or threat of a chemical release, safety protocol requires Hasa to contact HAZMAT, SCAQMD, and any or all other agencies having jurisdictional oversight. At that time, the appropriate agencies would determine the severity of the event and apply appropriate measures in response. As part of the entitlement process, the Project was reviewed by the Los Angeles County Fire Department Land Development Unit (LACLDU), which provided COA to ensure the Project meets all fire safety design requirements.
Drayton Street Incidents
Historical records document multiple chemical- and code-related incidents at the Drayton Street facility:
• 1976 – Liquid bleach spill
• 1983 – Bleach and acid mixed, resulting in chlorine gas • 1984 – Four separate chemical spills
• 1989 to 1992 – Unpermitted construction (fire and building code violations) • 1994 – Earthquake ruptured a line, leaking 10,000 gallons of acid • July 2023 – Spill of 40 gallons of chemical (contained)
Hours of Operation / Truck and Employee Traffic
The proposed facility would operate during the same hours as the existing Drayton Street facility: 24 hours per day, six days per week, with Saturday as a half day from June through September. There would be no net increase in truck traffic on Railroad Avenue. From June to September, up to 15 daily truck trips are expected for bulk chemical transfers between Hasa’s Drayton Street and Springbrook Avenue facilities; up to 10 trips per day are expected from October to May. There would be no net increase in staffing or commuting traffic, with up to 70 employees on site per shift.
GENERAL PLANNING AND ZONING
Land Use and Zoning
The Land Use Element of the City’s General Plan designates the Project site as I. Section
17.34.050 of the SCMC identifies the I zone as contemplating, “…industrial districts in areas with adequate access, infrastructure, and services, and to accommodate the most intensive types of industrial uses allowed in the planning area.” Heavy manufacturing uses are permitted within the I zone with the approval of a CUP. The Project site is surrounded by existing industrial uses to the north and south, vacant land to the east, and existing industrial uses and the Union Pacific Railroad to the west.
The proposed use is consistent with the following objective and policies of the Land Use Element of the General Plan:
Objective LU 4.3: Enhance older commercial and industrial areas.
Policy LU 2.1.5: Identify areas with hazardous conditions and ensure that uses in or adjacent to these areas pose minimal risk to public health and safety.
Policy LU 4.3.7: Promote revitalization and reuse of the older industrial areas east of the railroad, adjacent to the intersection of Springbrook and Drayton Avenues and in the Honby area adjacent to the Santa Clara River.
The Project would revitalize the older industrial area located east of the Union Pacific Railroad, along Springbrook Avenue, by reusing and upgrading two existing industrial buildings that are at least 65 years old. The Project is consistent with the aim of the General Plan Industrial land use designation and is compatible with other industrial uses in the surrounding area. By locating the proposed use in the industrial zone, adjacent to similar uses, the proposed Project would minimize the threat to public health and safety.
ANALYSIS
The proposed use was analyzed for compliance with the General Plan and the SCMC. The use is permitted in the I zone, subject to a CUP. With the implementation of the Conditions of Approval, the Project is consistent with all applicable standards outlined in the SCMC. Further, the Project is consistent with all required general findings outlined in SCMC Section 17.06.130.
Additionally, the proposed Project meets all development standards within the I zone, in accordance with all pertinent sections of the SCMC.
The proposed Project would revitalize the older industrial area located east of the Union Pacific Railroad, along Springbrook Avenue, by reusing and upgrading two existing industrial buildings that are at least 65 years old. The Project is consistent with the aim of the General Plan Industrial land use designation and is compatible with other industrial uses in the surrounding area. By locating the proposed use in the I zone, adjacent to similar uses, the proposed Project would minimize the threat to public health and safety.
ENVIRONMENTAL
The project is exempt from additional environmental review pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15302 (Class 2). A Class 2 exemption consists of
the replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities.
PUBLIC NOTICING
All notices required by law were completed, which consisted of a legal advertisement in The Signal newspaper on October 7, 2025, and notification of the public hearing by mail to all property owners and occupants within a 1,000-foot radius of the subject site. On October 14, 2025, two signs were posted: one sign at the project site and a second at the applicant’s Drayton Street facility, at the corner of Drayton Street and Railroad Avenue. As of the writing of this staff report, four letters of support have been received and are attached for reference.
CONCLUSION
The proposed use is consistent with the provisions outlined in the General Plan and SCMC and is compatible with the kinds of uses envisioned for the Industrial zone. Therefore, staff has drafted the necessary findings for Master Case 25-082 as set forth in SCMC Sections 17.23.110,
17.23.120, and 17.25.10, subject to the attached Conditions of Approval (Exhibit A).
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other actions as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund.
ATTACHMENTS
Public Hearing Notice
Resolution and Conditions of Approval
Aerial and Zoning Maps
Elevations
Site Plan
Public Comment Letters
Planning Commission Staff Report - September 16, 2025 (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)