Private school eyes Crest View site

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Opponents of a proposed Wal-Mart see a “perfect”

solution to their problem now that a private school is showing an

interest in purchasing the property where the retailer plans to build.

“Lots of us have thought that this is the best use for the site,”

resident Connie Boardman said. “Wal-Mart doesn’t belong there.”

The Costa Mesa-based Waldorf School of Orange County doesn’t want to

lease a facility any longer, said Diane Kastner, director of community

outreach.

“We’re looking for a permanent home,” Kastner said.

The school, which teaches about 200 children from preschool to eighth

grade, does believe the abandoned Crest View school site on Talbert

Avenue near Beach Boulevard would fit its needs.

But she doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions.

“This is all very preliminary,” she said.

The Ocean View school district, which owns the land, will not accept any

offers from Waldorf, trustee Tracy Pellman said. “We’re not selling the

site.”

While a sale would bring in possibly $7 million, the school district

stands to gain much more with Wal-Mart’s proposed 65-year lease, which

would pay out $400,000 annually, she said.

“We need the most money we can get” for much needed repairs, Pellman

said.

The property’s future depends, in large part, on what residents decide at

the voting booth March 7. A citizen-sponsored ballot initiative asks

residents to rezone the site from commercial back to residential.

That may jeopardize Wal-Mart’s plans. But not to worry, Kastner said.

“We’re a great asset to the community,” she said.