Porter Ranch School Plan Is Upheld

A key Los Angeles City Council committee rejected pleas from school district officials Tuesday to eliminate a provision in the Porter Ranch plan that requires the developer to reserve a future school site for no more than 10 years.

In an often contentious exchange, West Valley school board member Julie Korenstein asked Councilman Hal Bernson, chairman of the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, to remove the 10-year limit.

Bernson refused, saying it could be viewed as an unfair requirement on the developer and lead to a lawsuit against the city.

The $2-billion Porter Ranch plan calls for developer Nathan Shapell to set aside 22 acres, including a seven-acre elementary school site, for purchase by the school district. But Shapell would have to hold the elementary school site only until the end of 2000.

If the school district had not purchased the land by then, he would be free to sell or use it. The deadline does not apply to the remaining 15 acres, meant for a junior high school, because no specific site has been selected yet, a Bernson spokeswoman said.

Korenstein said after the meeting that she will fight for the elimination of the time limit before the full City Council, which still must approve the mammoth development plan that calls for 2,195 single-family houses, 1,200 townhouses and nearly 6 million square feet of commercial space.

“When you have a planned development, schools are an important part of that plan. Why is it so difficult to set aside 22 acres?” asked Korenstein.

Bernson countered by asking, “Why is it so difficult for you to decide what land you need, and then make demands here that are basically reverse condemnations?”

The school district has long objected to the 10-year deadline, arguing that construction delays could make it impossible for the district to exercise its option to buy the land.

Last month, the school board passed a resolution asking the City Council to require Shapell to hold the 22 acres until at least half of the proposed 3,395 residences are built and occupied.

The issue is crucial, Korenstein said, because before the school district can receive state funding to buy land and build a school, it must prove that there are enough children living in the surrounding neighborhood.

Korenstein continued to press the argument Tuesday before the committee, which approved technical language changes to the plan.

“If the development is not on schedule or is not complete in time, we will lose the possibility of reserving the land,” Korenstein said. “It is very important that you do not place a time cap on this.”

Bernson, however, firmly disagreed, stating that the provision is fair because the developer is “literally setting land aside for 10 years without any assurances” that it will be purchased by the school district.

He said that if the land was not purchased by the deadline, the school district would be free to use its power of eminent domain to condemn property for a school site.

Bernson did, however, acquiesce in another school board request, dropping a provision in the plan that required the re-opening of a nearby elementary school before the district purchased land for a new site.

Bernson hastily added that measure during a Planning Committee meeting earlier this month after Korenstein appeared before the committee and spoke against the Porter Ranch project.

Bernson said at the time that “the L.A. Unified needs to demonstrate good faith by providing adequate schools for the area, not just to demand land.”

The entire development plan still must receive approval by the Board of Referred Powers and the full City Council.