Anaheim Schools Sue City, Disney Over Resort : Jurisprudence: Settlement is reported near. Suit says project would create further school overcrowding.

SANTA ANA —  The Anaheim City School District on Monday sued the city of Anaheim and the Walt Disney Co. over the proposed Disneyland Resort, but city and district officials said later in the day that they were close to an out-of-court settlement.

The suit, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court, contends that the resort would create further overcrowding in schools and drain already limited district resources.

“We believe we are close to resolving this issue,” said District Supt. Meliton Lopez, adding that the suit was filed to protect the district’s legal rights during the negotiations. It was filed on the last day to legally challenge the environmental analysis of the project’s impacts.

If an agreement is reached, the lawsuit will be withdrawn, he said.

City Manager James D. Ruth said that the city understands the district’s reasons for filing the lawsuit and “doesn’t feel threatened. . . . We’re committed to working this out. Both the district and the city want to be able to provide a quality education for the children.”

Disney officials would not comment on the lawsuit.

In the past, however, Disney officials have said that any litigation could jeopardize their commitment to the 490-acre project, which would see several hotels, a shopping district, an amphitheater and a new theme park built next to Disneyland.

The district’s lawsuit was the third to be filed against the $3-billion project. The two other suits were filed last week on behalf of various property and hotel owners.

Although Anaheim City School District is the only district to sue, about half a dozen other local school districts are also concerned about the project’s adverse impacts.

The other districts, however, decided against legal action last week when Disney promised to provide various educational, drug and job training programs for students.

The negotiations with the district include an offer by Disney to provide the same educational programs being proposed for the other districts, as well as a commitment by the entertainment giant to support a public bond measure to fund additional school facilities. No date or monetary amount has been discussed for such a bond measure.

Also being discussed is a plan to channel redevelopment money to the district, a quicker payment schedule of Disney’s development fees, and city assistance in studying, locating and acquiring land for future school sites for Anaheim City School District, which is the county’s largest elementary school district with 21 schools and about 16,300 students.

For a couple of months, the city, Disney and the state have been meeting with most of the districts to address their concerns. Officials from Anaheim City School District, however, did not participate and said they were not invited.

But last week, the city suddenly entered into discussions with the district.

“In retrospect, we should have been doing this all along,” said Ruth. “There should have been better communication between the city and the district.”

Lopez said one of the reasons the district filed suit was because negotiations started at such a late date.

Initially, the district was asking the city and Disney to spend about $15 million to build one new elementary school.

Disney and city officials said that request was unrealistic. They maintain that state law requires Disney to pay $2.2 million in development fees to offset the impacts to the district. Of that amount, about $1.1 million would go to Anaheim City School District, with the remainder for the Anaheim Union High School District.