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.