I am writing to express my jaw-dropping astonishment at the city of Santa Clarita’s decision to approve a lithium battery storage facility at 18358 Soledad Canyon Road. Bravo, city officials! Nothing says “responsible governance” quite like placing a potential toxic time bomb 200 feet from homes. Did you draw this brilliant plan on a cocktail napkin during happy hour? Or was this the brainstorming idea of a former someone who “loves the city”? Oh, the approval process? A master class in municipal incompetence that would make a banana republic blush. While the rest of us were living our lives, you were busy playing SimCity with our safety, complete with your very own “Let’s Potentially Incinerate a Neighborhood” expansion pack. Lithium-ion battery storage systems aren’t infrastructure; they’re basically portable apocalypse generators. These technological powder kegs are more unstable than a cast member of the “Real Housewives,” prone to thermal runaway that could turn our peaceful neighborhood into a Michael Bay movie scene. Electrical failures, mechanical damage, environmental conditions, cyberattacks — it’s like you’re playing disaster bingo, and we’re the unlucky prize. Remember the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in Northern California? The KSTAR Energy Storage Facility in South Korea? The APS McMicken site in Arizona? Most people would look at those catastrophic fires and think, “Maybe we shouldn’t do that.” But not our visionary city officials! No, you saw those incidents and thought, “Hold my beer — we can do worse!” Congratulations on turning Canyon Country into a potential ground zero for the next industrial disaster. Public engagement? Ha! That’s adorable. You’ve managed to approve a hazardous facility so secretly, it’s like you’re running a covert ops mission against your own residents.  Let’s talk financial impact. Property values? Plummeting faster than a skydiver without a parachute. Insurance premiums? They’ll soon cost more than our actual homes. But I’m sure the developers are thrilled — nothing makes land acquisition easier than systematically destroying community property values. Here’s a revolutionary idea: How about actually giving a damn and protecting the people who live here? I know, I know — radical concept. Immediate demands: 1. Shut down this lithium lottery ticket to disaster. 2. Conduct a REAL safety audit, and by “real,” I mean NOT funded by the same (people) who approved this. 3. Create an evacuation plan that doesn’t involve your hypocritical “thoughts and prayers” apologies. 4. Publish ALL risk assessments — no redactions, no excuses. 5. Investigate this approval process so thoroughly that heads roll. We’re not your lab rats. We’re not your collateral damage. We’re residents who deserve better than your negligent urban planning. Glenda Roybal Canyon Country The post Glenda Roybal | Negligent Planning appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.