Coastal Commission recommendation could hurt Ocean View district

Andrew Wainer

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Hearthside Homes may not be the only one affected if

the Coastal Commission cuts in half the area on the Bolsa Chica mesa

available for development -- the Ocean View School District also owns

land on the mesa.

The land -- a $12-million, 15-acre parcel near Warner Avenue -- falls on

a portion of the mesa that the commission’s staff is suggesting to

preserve as open space.

Cutting the development area from 183 acres to 65 acres, as the staff is

recommending, would be “devastating” to the district, Supt. James

Tarwater said. And, he said the district will seek “legal means” to fight

the recommendation if necessary.

Land categorized as open space by the commission must remain undeveloped,

which means the number of homes Hearthside hopes to build would be

drastically reduced.

Tarwater said the district plans to build an elementary school on the

site to accommodate the 1,235 homes the developer wants to build. However

the staff recommendation would squash those plans, and the new students

from the Hearthside development would have to be bused to a school that

has enough space.

“The closest school that has room is six miles away,” Tarwater said.

He added that parents in the area tend to be against busing, and it would

cost the district extra money to do so.

The Coastal Commission will decide on the matter in April.

If the commission approves the recommendation, Tarwater said all 15 acres

would be labeled open space and would therefore remain undeveloped.

“We are anxiously waiting for the commission’s ruling,” Tarwater said.

The superintendent added that Hearthside Homes had previously agreed to

provide, through developer fees, $6 million of the $8 million needed to

build the school. That amount would be significantly reduced, however, if

the commission moves ahead with what the staff suggests.

The law requires developers to compensate nearby school districts for the

number of new students a home development brings to a district. In

addition to the Ocean View district, Hearthside Homes is also required to

pay developer fees to the Huntington Beach City and Union High school

districts, which would also serve some of the mesa’s potential students.

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