The supervisors approved a five-village Newhall Ranch plan. At 19 square miles, Newhall Ranch would be one of the largest master-planned communities in Los Angeles County. The plan allows for the development of 5.5 million sf of commercial, industrial and office space and up to 20,885 housing units. In addition, more than half of the site, or approximately 6,000 acres, will be preserved as open space. The project is being developed by Newhall Ranch Co., a division of Newhall Land and Farming Co.

The new community would have a population estimated at close to 60,000. Among the other features would be an 18-hole golf course, 15-acre community lake, 50 miles of hiking trails, as well as parks, schools and government facilities such as a sheriff's station and fire station.

The supervisors' approval covered a number of items, including some zoning changes and the final environmental impact report for the development, which Newhall Land hopes to begin building in 2006. Gary M. Cusumano, Newhall president and CEO, called the approval "an important milestone in the entitlement process for Newhall Ranch," noting that the company is at work on subdivision maps and applications for permits, which need to be approved before development can occur. Newhall Land is a community planner in north Los Angeles County with communities both under way and planned in Valencia, where it owns about 36,000 acres, 30 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles.