Palmdale Takes First Step Toward Big Development

The Palmdale City Council took the first step Thursday night to annex a 12,600-acre area, paving the way for a 7,200-home development that would be one of the largest in Southern California and increase the sprawling city’s size and population by almost a third.

The council voted 5 to 0 to begin proceedings to annex much of the Leona Valley, west of the city, where developers propose to build the 10,625-acre Ritter Ranch project. It would transform about 17 square miles of mostly undeveloped ranch land into a community of about 20,000 in 20 years.

Palmdale now has about 65,000 residents in 70 square miles.

The annexation measure passed despite requests for delay from Leona Valley residents, who complained that the project’s massive scale would overwhelm their rural district. About 2,000 people live in the area now.