My surmise is that both Santa Clarita and the Tejon Ranch Co. are operating under the delusion that they can remain upscale so close to LA and I-5. The reality is that strip malls and casinos are more likely what they can expect to host. Fringe, outer-ring suburbs are growing out of favor in the urban scheme of things.

Somehow they have become convinced that hsr will blight their areas, even if most of it is in tunnel. You'd think the CHSRA was low-income housing blocks and meth labs.