Costa Mesa council gives language school the green light for former Trinity Broadcasting site

The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday approved an agreement between the city and EF Education First to improve the infrastructure around the former Trinity Broadcasting headquarters to cater to pedestrians and public transportation, clearing a path for the company to put a for-profit English-language school on the property.

The 6-1 decision came after Stacy Swanson, who owns property abutting the site, withdrew her appeal of the Planning Commission’s Nov. 25 approval of EF Education’s plans.

In her Dec. 2 appeal to the City Council, Swanson expressed concerns about vehicle traffic and exhaust and noise from the campus parking lot and recreational area. But she talked with company Vice President Shawna Marino in the days before the council meeting about the school’s plans to address those concerns.

Though Swanson withdrew the appeal, the council agenda included an item on whether to agree to the proposed infrastructure improvements and accept $1.8 million from EF Education to address them.

EF Education First, founded in Sweden, plans to transform the 6.19 acres at 3150 Bear St. into a school with the capacity to serve 627 international students living onsite and 720 living with host families within a 45-minute commute of the campus.

Since international students are not allowed to own or drive vehicles according to the school’s code of conduct, the students would rely on walking, biking and public transportation, which would require street improvements around the site.

The company agreed to invest the $1.8 million over 15 years. It will pay the city $300,000 before permit issuance, followed by $100,000 yearly payments.

A portion of the money will go toward building a crosswalk, a pedestrian-activated HAWK signal and disabled-accessible ramps along Bear Street. The rest will address other concerns and projects in the school’s vicinity at the discretion of the city, including improvements to transportation.

Marino said she found during planning that public transportation in Costa Mesa is not comprehensive.

Though council members spoke favorably about the project overall, a point of contention was the demographic for EF Education First’s high school scholarship program.

The company plans to put out a prompt related to science, engineering, technology or mathematics. Students would compete in teams to come up with the best solution to the prompt. Up to five high school students and two chaperones will win a full scholarship to travel to a destination that models the topic.

EF Education intended to open the competition to Costa Mesa public high school students, but some council members wanted it open to all high school students who are Costa Mesa residents.

Mayor Katrina Foley argued for public high school students to get priority. She said private high schools have an advantage over public schools based on access and resources.

“We have had this happening in public schools for decades,” Foley said. “We don’t have the resources that the other schools have, so other schools have a competitive advantage. It’s a fact.”

Councilman Allan Mansoor argued for the inclusion of all Costa Mesa high school students, saying it’s wrong to limit or exclude some students from the competition. He said some students from low-income families attend private schools on scholarship.

Marino suggested amending the language to make the “scholarship open to all Costa Mesa high school students as determined by the City Council.”

Mansoor cast the only dissenting vote because the amended language gave him pause.

“It is something that an attorney would put in to give wiggle room,” he said. “My concern is with the direction this council majority has expressed that they want to give preference to one student over another when it really should be open to all equally.”

The council will determine the eligibility for the scholarship when the company is ready to organize the competition.

Police Department upgrades

Funding to replace video surveillance around the Police Department headquarters, rental car contracts for unmarked vehicles and broadband service got unanimous council approval Tuesday.

The decision falls in line with an approved three-year plan to fund law enforcement projects after a dispute in which Police Chief Rob Sharpnack sent a memo in May criticizing the city’s proposed budget, claiming the Police Department was being shortchanged.

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