Meeting in Torrance : Residents to Air Views on School Site’s Zoning

Torrance city officials will meet with residents tonight to get their views on the future use of the former Columbia School site, which is at the center of a dispute between the school district and the City Council.

The district wants to build up to 120 apartments on the five-acre, triangular lot on 186th Street, but council members question the density of the project and some fear it could include subsidized housing--a politically hot issue in Torrance.

Tonight, city officials will meet with residents at Magruder Middle School to discuss the zoning of the land. The site, which has been vacant since 1987, is owned by the school district and is zoned for public use.

Paul Mackey, the district’s special services administrator, said the district wants to build apartments on the land because Torrance schools would raise the most money by developing the lot to its fullest. He said the district is in the process of requesting that the land be zoned for high-density residential use. The school district needs the approval of the Planning Commission and the City Council for a zone change.

Joint Venture

The plan to develop the land would be a joint venture between the district and the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission, he said. The commission develops publicly owned land and provides real estate advice to public agencies at a nominal fee.

State law requires that any profits from the sale of school lands go toward building improvements and purchase of other property. By developing the Columbia site instead of selling it, the district can use the profits any way it wants, Mackey said.

Councilman Tim Mock said that, although the district has not offered any specific plans, some council members are concerned that the district is considering a project too dense for the neighborhood.

Mock said the council has not decided what it would like to see on the lot. The city staff has suggested the land would be best suited for senior citizen housing. But because there are few shops nearby, Mock said senior housing would not be suitable. He said he is also concerned that such a housing project would also be too dense.

Subsidized Housing Fears

Some council members, including Dan Walker and Bill Applegate, have said they are concerned that, if the district and the county work together to develop the land, the district may be required to provide subsidized housing.

County officials have said they know of no requirement that would force the district to provide subsidized housing.

Walker said last week that he opposes subsidized housing in Torrance because it would bring down property values in the neighborhood.

Mackey said the district has “no intention of involving the city or the school district in subsidized housing.”

Subsidized housing is a sensitive issue with the City Council. In 1980, four council members faced recall petitions because they voted for a federally subsidized housing project in order to continue receiving federal grants.

Faced with overwhelming opposition from residents, the council ultimately dropped out of the federal housing program and the recall effort was abandoned.

Community Feeling

Mock said tonight’s 7 o’clock meeting at Magruder Middle School will help the city to “get a feeling of what the community wants.”

William Largent, president of the North Torrance Property & Homeowners Assn., said last week that residents in the neighborhood near the school fear that apartments will produce too much traffic and congestion.

“I think the city and the people want low-density or single-family houses,” Largent said.

Could Re-Evaluate Plans

Mackey said that, if the city rejects the district’s zone change, district officials will re-evaluate their plans for the lot.

In July, the school officials asked the community development commission to evaluate the vacant property and recommend how to get the highest financial return. The commission said the most profitable use would be a high-density apartment project.

It has not been estimated how much the development may cost, but Harvey Oelkers, the district’s assistant superintendent for business services, has said the district plans to borrow all of the money needed. He estimated that the profit to the district over a 10-year period could be as high as $13.5 million. The land alone is worth about $4.5 million.

If the project is completed, the district plans to hire a private agency to manage the property.

Developing vacant school sites instead of selling the land has become popular with school districts throughout the state, according to officials at the School Facilities Planning Division of the State Department of Education.

In Redondo Beach, the elementary school district is working with developers to build two senior citizens homes, one at the old McCandless Elementary School site and the other on the site of the former Andrews Elementary School.