And Adds Own Vision for Future Growth

Centennial Founders sent out press releases Tuesday, Jan. 2 to announce they
are contributing $8,000 to the Gorman Elementary School District to fund a
mosaic mural ?created by students, staff and community members…to document the
history of Gorman.? The release also spoke about the developers? vision for the
future. The mosaic panels ?will continue to be developed for the district?s
eight new schools that are expected to be built by Centennial Founders in its
new town of Centennial,? it says.

The ?Legacy Installation? on the exterior of the district?s administration
building will be directed by Leigh Adams, a tile folk artist who has led similar
projects, the release reports.

Carlene Matchniff, vice president of community development for Centennial is
quoted as saying. ?This is the type of community building that we plan to
emulate throughout Centennial.?

Sue Page, superintendent of the district and principal of the Gorman School
is quoted: ?This art installation will culminate a year-long study of the Gorman
community and will be a legacy for years to come.? Each student will create a
tile for the mosaic, with each student?s name incorporated.

In an interview last fall, Page reported that of the nearly 60 students
currently attending Gorman School, only one is a resident of Gorman. Most reside
in adjacent Mountain Community villages such as Pine Mountain, Lake of the
Woods, Pinon Pines, Lebec and Neenach.

?A brochure will be published that will use the mosaic as
an example of the quality education that students receive through the Gorman
Joint School District and to encourage the community involvement that is
necessary for student success,? the release said.

Tuesday?s press release, prepared by the Centennial Founders? public
relations personnel, describes the development (a partnership of Tejon Ranch
Company and three developers?Lewis Operating Company, Pardee Homes and Standard
Pacific Homes) as:

?…A self-contained, self-reliant community that generates its own economic
vitality. The new town will be set in harmony with its environment and fully
integrated with housing, jobs, shopping, medical facilities, cultural and
recreational amenities and educational institutions.

?It will not spring up overnight, but will grow organically over 20 years.
Centennial will have approximately 30,000 jobs along with 23,000 homes (12,800
single-family detached homes; 6,200 attached condominiums and townhomes; and
4,000 rental apartments).

?The homes are designed to be affordable to 74% of those working in the
community. This high rate of jobs/housing is a crucial smart growth strategy
that reduces traffic on regional arterials and improves air quality by
developing opportunities for people to live and work in the same community.

?In order to attract the majority of the expected 30,000 jobs at Centennial,
the master plan includes a business district with a potential of 12 million
square feet of space.?

In a prior interview, Greg Medeiros, Vice President of Community Development
for Centennial Founders, said the business district will include light
industrial activity as well as commercial retail operations.

Critics have raised concerns that the rural I-5 corridor from Centennial to
the northern end of the Grapevine will be as densely developed as Castaic within
12 years.

This is part of the January 05, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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