Act could give city chance to buy site

As the Huntington Beach City School District considers proposals to lease or sell some of its four closed school sites, the City Council voted this week to make sure it will have a shot at purchasing some land if any goes up for sale.

The council voted unanimously Monday to make sure the city can take advantage of laws that give it first priority to buy a portion of surplus school sites.

Those sites include Burke and Gisler Elementary schools, which are leased by Brethren Christian Junior/Senior High School and Huntington Christian School from the district. LeBard Elementary School’s site now holds the district offices, and Kettler Elementary School is unoccupied.

According to the state Naylor Act, cities get first chance at 30% of the land from any site declared surplus by a district if the land is necessary for open space or outdoor activities, paying merely a quarter of market value. That means that of the roughly 45 acres of closed school sites, the city is claiming it could buy 12.5 acres of land at a bargain rate if all the sites go up for sale.

But interpretations of how the city gets that chance to buy land differ, as school board President Brian Rechsteiner told council members when voicing his reservations with the vote. He said Kettler Elementary wasn’t yet declared surplus. He also said he didn’t think the city could consolidate those acres into buying a whole site, for example.

“There is an opinion that the city is only entitled to take 30% of a site that’s offered for sale and not 30% of all sites that are declared surplus,” he said. “The courts reflect that there is a different reading of that. We look forward to working with the city to resolve all of these issues.”

The vote doesn’t make any promises, Community Services Director Jim Engle said. But it lays out what the city believes it is entitled to; in the case of Kettler Elementary, the plan would apply if it were declared surplus, he added.

“It does not require the city nor obligate the city to make a purchase,” Engle said.

“At this point, what we’re trying to do is determine what would qualify under Naylor to be purchased for 25% of market value.”

But activists who worry about the district selling to developers want more than just that 30% saved, said Stephanie Root, a co-founder of the anti-selloff website SaveHBcommunity.com.

“We ask you to preserve not just property available to you under Naylor but all property,” she said.

“The Sports Complex is not large enough to accommodate all of these children, nor is it possible for a very large number of children to travel across town for sports activities.”