San Diego

The San Diego City Council postponed until June 1 a decision on whether to sign an agreement with the San Diego school district to set up a procedure for the district to sell off surplus school sites.

The district has identified six surplus sites for sale, including Farnum Elementary in Pacific Beach and Dana Junior High in Point Loma. Under state law, the sites must be offered first to the city for purchase at a discount before they can be sold to developers for market value.

But some people living around the schools have objected to the agreement because it would mean development of schoolyards, which they believe are needed as neighborhood parks. Other critics contend that the district wants to use the agreement as a way around a newly approved Institutional Overlay Zone, which would be imposed on schools and other cultural properties to make development more difficult.

In March, the council approved the concept of the special zoning, but public hearings must be held before it is put into place.

Last week, the county grand jury also released a report criticizing the school district, in part, for the way it handled the decision to select Dana as one of the surplus sites.

The council postponed action on the agreement Monday to give city staffers the chance to get answers to questions raised by the grand jury report, as well as additional questions about the pact from the community.