HUNTINGTON BEACH : School Panel Weighs Award of Land Lease

The board of trustees for the Huntington Beach Union High School District is considering proposals from four developers to lease surplus land at Warner Avenue and Golden West Street for combined commercial and residential uses.

Assistant Supt. David Hagen said the school board will probably decide in January which developer will be awarded a 55-year lease for the 14 acres. The surplus land is behind Ocean View High School, but its lease will not adversely affect the high school, Hagen said.

“This is something that goes back about three years,” he said. “The blue-ribbon committee that studied our district’s financial problems recommended that we make use of surplus land. Then we had another committee, about a year ago, that studied this particular site, and the committee held two public hearings. There were no protests at either public hearing.”

In the past two weeks, the school board has held two more public hearings on the proposed lease of the surplus land. Hagen said these hearings did not draw anyone opposed to the concept.

Hagen said the four companies seeking to develop the land are Tramell-Crow, Rainier Fund, Calmark-Hopkins and Andover/Chandler. He said all four have proposed plans to use the land for a combination of shops and apartments. In addition, one developer has an alternative plan for total commercial use of the land, Hagen said.

Huntington Beach Union High School District governs all of the high schools in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Westminster. Because of declining enrollment during the past 10 years, the district has suffered a corresponding decline in state funding.