Ocean View School District waits on offer for Bolsa land

Andrew Edwards

Ocean View School District leaders eventually may be able to sell the

district’s Bolsa Chica property, but any possible sale depends on the

state being able to buy more of the lower mesa, officials said this

week.

The state Wildlife Conservation Board will not purchase the

district’s 15-acre parcel on the lower part of the mesa unless it is

able to buy 103 acres owned by development company Signal Landmark,

said Randall Nelson, a project manager for the Wildlife Conservation

Board.

Board officials have not yet quoted a price to the school

district.

“We might make a contingent offer,” Nelson said.

The complications surrounding a possible deal between the state

and Signal Landmark mean the district’s ability to sell their

property is subject to the outcome of events school leaders cannot

control.

“We’re not in the driver’s seat,” school board President Barbara

Boskovich said. “We’re a passenger, we’re along for the ride.”

The Wildlife Conservation Board is scheduled to decide on whether

to approve buying the land for $65-million at its meeting today.

Developers would have until June 30 of next year to sign the

contract.

However, Signal Landmark will not sell its land on the lower mesa

unless allowed to build 379 homes on the upper shelf, said Ray

Pacini, the company’s chief executive officer.

And there is a central sticking point. A California Coastal

Commission hearing on whether to allow development was delayed from

today to October after commission staff members recommended against

developing the land. Pacini said there will not be any significant

changes made to his company’s plans by October, and it is prepared to

go to court if approval is denied.

“We believe that our upper bench plan is in compliance with the

Coastal Act,” Pacini said.

For the district to sell the land, the school board would first

have to declare that the parcel is surplus property. The declaration

would make it possible to sell to public agencies such as the

Wildlife Conservation Board, though district officials could change

their mind and decide to keep the property, district counsel Wendy

Wiles told school board members.

“The resolution that you have in front of you does not commit the

district in any way to a sale of this property,” Wiles said.

The school board discussed a resolution to declare the land a

surplus Tuesday, but took no vote. Though the possibility of taking a

vote Tuesday was discussed at the board’s July meeting, the

district’s chief operations and facilities officer, Carol Stocker,

said she did not want to recommend that the board vote until they

have more information -- in particular, a quote on a sales price.

“That’s because we’re still without an offer,” Stocker said.

The district bought the land in 1966 for $537,750, Stocker said.

Since then, the district has paid more than that amount in fees

levied by the state for owning an unused school site. The district

has paid $587,440 in fees, including $45,944 last year.

If the land is declared surplus, the district would not have to

pay those fees, board member Carolee Focht said.

Not only does the district not have an offer, school board members

have not approved an appraisal of the land. Though Focht said the

district could wait until an offer is made, board member Pam Ogdon

said she wanted an independent analysis made before a price is

discussed.

“I would like to have an idea of what the value of the land is,”

Ogdon said.