Congregation to Lease 17 Acres at Pierce College for 75 Years

An Encino-based Reform Jewish congregation Wednesday won the right to lease 17.6-acres of Pierce College land for $3 million.

The agreement will give the congregation a place to build a synagogue, day-care center and other facilities. For the financially strapped Los Angeles Community College District, the 75-year agreement will provide an infusion of cash.

Shir Chadash, a 3-year-old Jewish congregation without a sanctuary, was the only bidder for the Woodland Hills property, according to a district spokesman. Shir Chadash operates from an Encino office and holds its services at the Woodland Hills Community Church.

The property lies east of the main Pierce campus and is bordered by Topham Street on the north and Calvert Street on the south.

The land is now used to grow feed for animals raised as part of the Pierce program, producing crops worth about $14,000 a year.

When the district first proposed leasing the land, some members of the Pierce faculty expressed fear that it was the first sign that the district planned to reduce the school’s agriculture and livestock program.

But alternate sites for growing crops have been found, district officials said. And the district has assured Pierce faculty and students that the lease in no way indicates a reduction in the district’s support of Pierce’s agriculture program.

Money from the leasing of property will not go directly to Pierce College, according to Norm Schneider, director of communications for the college district. Instead, the proceeds will go into the district’s general fund, where it will help ease budget pressures, he said.

The Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District voted 7 to 0 for the proposal.