Plan to Lease College Land to Developers Draws Fire

The administration of Orange Coast College has embarked on a controversial plan to lease out some campus open space, converting the valuable Costa Mesa acreage to commercial use that might include fast-food outlets.

Critics describe the plan as shortsighted and say that the land may be needed in the future. College officials counter that money is needed now and that the development will increase the value of the property.

“What we’re trying to do here is put together a program that causes a public entity to take advantage of appreciation in real estate, just exactly as families do and businesses and everyone else,” Chancellor David Brownell said, noting that the Coast Community College District is having budget problems.

Brownell said the leases “would be as long as 66 years.”

Leasing Strips Protested

The district also proposes commercial lease of some land at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, but that proposal has stirred no opposition. Protests center on leasing strips of Orange Coast College land along Adams Avenue and between Adams and Merrimac Way and a small, isolated parcel on Merrimac.

The district Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on the issue at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 26 in Orange Coast College’s cafeteria building, on Fairview Road near Merrimac Way.

College officials said they have no commercial user in sight at this point, but an administrative committee has recommended that the corner land at Adams Avenue and Fairview Road could be used for a fast-food outlet.

The Orange Coast College student newspaper editorially denounced the leasing proposals, stating, “shortsighted decisions now could lead to future problems that could turn out to be even more traumatizing than the funding problems we are facing today.”

Similarly, Gary James, dean of mathematics and sciences at the college, criticized the proposal as “a quick fix by the trustees for a serious financial condition . . . but not a lasting solution.”

Opposes High-Rises

Jim Aynes, director of Mesa Action, a slow-growth citizens’ organization in Costa Mesa, said he would oppose any high-rise developments that might be proposed, such as large apartment buildings.

“So far, all I’ve heard is that they’re talking about low-rise buildings such as fast-food outlets, and that doesn’t bother us,” Aynes said.

Brownell, in an interview, said the five-member Board of Trustees already has “approved the (lease) idea in concept.”

Walter Howald, president of the Board of Trustees, said: “This board is looking at land utilization as one way the district could take our destiny into our own hands. We have some 60 to 83 acres in the district that currently aren’t being used for education purposes, and commercial use of these might bring income into the district.”

Howald, however, said that no final decision has been made. “This is one reason why we’re having our study session (public hearing) on Feb. 26,” said Howald. “We want to get as much community reaction as possible.”

The incumbent Board of Trustees was elected following a political upheaval four years ago. In 1983, facing budget squeezes brought on by decreased state funding, trustees voted to lay off about 100 teachers. Outraged, the teachers’ union helped lead a recall effort against all five board members.

The recall failed for lack of signatures, but the attempt is generally credited with leading to the ouster of three board incumbents in the November, 1983, regular election and their replacement with new trustees backed by the teachers’ union. Two other new board members similarly endorsed by the teachers’ union were elected in the subsequent regular election in November, 1985.

James said in an interview that he thinks the new board has failed to manage finances properly. The situation is somewhat ironic, he added, because “the new board came in because of financial trouble the old board had.” Financial conditions for the three colleges governed by the district--Orange Coast, Golden West and Coastline community colleges--are still grim, he said.

“This district is in very serious financial condition,” he said.

In June, 1986, the district had planned a $94.9-million budget for this fiscal year. But a drop in state funding has caused a $3-million shortfall.

Land Might Be Needed Later

James said that leasing college land is not the answer, and he said that if Orange Coast grows in enrollment in future years, it will badly need the land leased to commercial users. With 25,000 students, OCC already is the largest single-campus community college in California.

James was an early critic of the lease proposals, because the targeted tracts between Adams and Merrimac are agriculture land, and agriculture courses are within his division. But Brownell said the northwest corner of that strip, a site used for animal husbandry, gardens and experimental crops, is no longer being considered for lease.

James, however, said he is still displeased. “The land facing Adams, and part of the land (near Pinecreek Drive) where the district headquarters is situated, is used for agriculture also,” he said. “We consider our land like laboratories. Would you take away the labs of the physical sciences and still think you’re able to teach properly?”

In its Jan. 21 editorial, the Coast Report, the student newspaper, said: “This land belongs not to the district but to the students of Orange Coast College itself. . . . By selling or leasing this land for development now, we are shortchanging future students and disrupting academic programs. In short, exploiting our lands would have the same effect as selling a fortune in family jewels to the lowest bidder and then hoping the money will last forever.”

Brownell said the district’s three colleges stand to benefit from the money that commercial development would bring in.

“One of the beauties is we do not relinquish title; we continue to control the property,” Brownell said. “We control 100% what goes on there. The developer is free to propose anything, but it must be approved by the board. The district also has built-in safeguards, such as making the developers fully bonded, so it seems to be clearly a ‘win win’ situation for the district.”

Land proposed for commercial development around Orange Coast College includes the district headquarters site at Adams and Pinecreek Drive in Costa Mesa. The 13-acre site was rezoned in 1980 for apartment buildings or similar use, said Mike Robinson, a senior planner at the Costa Mesa Planning Division.

Robinson said, however, that the latest parcels proposed for lease all would have to be rezoned before commercial development would be allowed by the City of Costa Mesa.

Donald Bronsard, president of Orange Coast College, said a campus study committee has recommended that the 5.5 acres between Adams and Merrimac be developed as “first priority.” The committee’s second priority was development of the 18 acres along Adams Avenue between Pinecreek Drive and Fairview Road.

Golden West College in Huntington Beach has three tracts that the college district is proposing to lease: 2.6 acres at the corner of Golden West Street and Edinger Avenue; 1.5 acres at McFadden Avenue and Golden West, and 4.7 acres on Gothard Street near McFadden.

Land for Four Buildings

Coast Community College District last year completed a lease with a private developer for 5.5 acres of Coastline Community College property at Warner Avenue and Newhope Street in Fountain Valley, next to the college’s administrative building. The developer proposed putting up four single-story buildings for small businesses and light industry and a three-story office building.

That commercial lease will bring the district up to $9.2 million over the next 20 years, Brownell said.

Brownell said that until land users are actually selected, it would be difficult to estimate how much money would come in from the proposed leases. But he said that if all the available acreage were leased, it is possible that the colleges could net $6 million a year.

The lease money would be used by Golden West and Orange Coast colleges for long-delayed maintenance work, Brownell said.

Theo Mabry , president of the Academic Senate at Orange Coast College, said: “This (land leasing) is something we need to consider because of the college’s financial situation. We have a lot of deferred maintenance, and we certainly need the money the leases would bring in. So there’s a lot of interest about this on campus, and there’s also a lot of concern. We’re very proud of the open areas around our campus.”