Lynwood : Redevelopment Suit Filed

A lawsuit challenging an environmental impact report on an expanded Redevelopment Agency project area has been filed against the agency and the city of Lynwood by the Lynwood Unified School District.

The redevelopment amendment proposes to add 169 acres to the existing redevelopment areas throughout the city, but the environmental report does not properly address the impact that the expansion would have on the school district, said John Brown, attorney for the district.

The filing last week in Compton Superior Court is to force the city to draft another impact report that would “sufficiently” include the school district, Brown said. “The district’s principal concern is not to stop redevelopment but to see that the quality of education is maintained,” Brown said.

If the redevelopment plan were implemented as drawn up, it could greatly increase student population in a district that already is experiencing overcrowded conditions, Brown said.

City officials expressed surprise that the suit had been filed. “We regret the school district has taken this step without conferring with us,” said Kenrick Karefa-Johnson, senior city planner.

During public hearings before approval of the report in June, Karefa-Johnson said, there were no areas of “controversy from the public, school district or other parties.”

The expansion would be throughout the city and include mostly commercial sites along major streets, including Long Beach and Century boulevards, Atlantic Avenue and Imperial Highway, the senior planner said.

Attorney James D. Clark, who is representing the city, said “the school district feels somehow threatened that there will be additional residents, which would put a burden on the district. We (the city) stand ready to discuss a resolution to whatever their problem is.”

Brown said the district also would be willing to try and reach a solution before the matter is scheduled for court. No hearing date has been scheduled.