District hires land-use lawyer
Andrew Wainer
The Ocean View School District has hired the services of a Newport Beach
lawyer to fight for the district’s right to develop a 15-acre parcel of
land on the Bolsa Chica mesa.
The Ocean View board of trustees hired attorney Richard Jacobs for an
estimated $25,000 to $50,000 to fight for the district’s right to build
an elementary school, despite a preliminary recommendation by the
California Coastal Commission’s staff that the area be preserved as open
space.
Jacobs, who is a partner at the Howard Rice Law Firm, has represented
more than 40 cases concerning land use. He is more than familiar with the
inner workings of the Coastal Commission -- he was an advisor to the
state agency for seven years while he was a member of the attorney
general’s office in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Supt. James Tarwater said he hired Jacobs because of his reputation and
experience in trying land-usecases.
Tarwater said the school is vital to the district’s future as it would
accommodate children from the new homes that developer Hearthside Homes
plans to build on the Bolsa Chica mesa. He said it would also help
relieve overcrowding at other nearby district schools.
Development on the Bolsa Chica mesa has been controversial for more than
20 years. The battle has pitted developers who would like to build homes
on the land against environmentalists who say developing the land would
be devastating to the local ecosystem.
In January, the commission’s staff recommended that about half of the
land on the mesa be set aside as open space. That half lies closest to
the surrounding protected wetlands.
Hearthside Homes had planned to build 1,235 homes on 183 acres on the mesa, but the recommendation calls for the commission to limit the amount
of construction to 65 acres.
Tarwater said 1,200 homes would generate about 400 elementary students
and 150 middle school students.
“We don’t want it declared open space because we need that school site,”
Tarwater said.
Jacobs said he has not yet worked out a strategy on how to represent the
district, but expects to consult the district after the staff issues the
final report on the Bolsa Chica mesa on March 23.
The commission will hold a hearing April 11.
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