While the Santa Clarita Valley is expected to build a new courthouse, the actual date it will happen is still up in the air. Last month, the Court Facilities Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council of California convened to discuss the priorities and needs for a list of capital projects called the Revision of Prioritization Methodology for Trial Court Capital-Outlay Projects. Included on that list was the proposed Santa Clarita courthouse.
The courthouse has been marked on the list as “high need” and would feature 24 courtrooms that would cost the state a total of $325.6 million. Although the SCV is in desperate need of a new facility, it is ranked 40th on the list of proposals. Projects higher on the list were tagged with “immediate need” and “critical need” labels.
Speaking to The Signal, attorney Taylor Williams said the following about the need for a new court room in the Santa Clarita Valley:
“The courthouse here only handles traffic and misdemeanors. Depending on the matter, their (civil) cases will typically be sent to Chatsworth or Stanley Mosk (courthouse in Los Angeles). Having to go over the hill with traffic is a disaster, especially with elderly clients. There’s a huge need for a general civil court for limited and unlimited civil, unlawful detainers and probate.”
The committee will be considering comments from the public regarding the draft report until September 13th. A final draft of the report will be disused at a committee meeting on October 1st.
To find out more about the new SCV courthouse, click here to read the article from The Signal.
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