Torrance

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John L. Cole issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday prohibiting the Torrance School District from selling a school site that the city is trying to acquire.

The order is another setback for the district, which is trying to sell the 3.4-acre Greenwood School to a private developer. The district is seeking a waiver from a state law that requires the district to offer the closed school site to the city first, at a reduced price. The city wants it for a park.

The state Board of Education has twice rejected the district’s waiver application, saying last month that the board had failed to get the endorsement of a citizens advisory group and last week ruling that the district had failed to hold a public hearing on the matter.

School Supt. Edward Richardson was unavailable for comment. However, City Atty. Stanley Remelmeyer said he has been told that the district will hold a public hearing within a few weeks and reapply for the waiver.

If the waiver is granted, the court order will become moot. It was sought by the city as part of a lawsuit seeking to force the district to sell the site to the city.

The city is expected to make the district another offer within a few days. The two sides reached a stalemate in July, with the city offering $1.6 million and the district insisting on $1.8 million.