CAMARILLO : Land to Be Bought for School Parking

The board of trustees of the Oxnard Union High School District voted unanimously Wednesday to buy a 12-acre parcel that will be used to build a new parking lot and community playground next to Camarillo High School.

The proposed lot, which will cost $3.1 million, will make the journey to and from Camarillo High School safer for students who drive to school, officials said. Students park across the street and must dodge heavy traffic on Mission Oaks Boulevard to get to classes.

“It’s dangerous to have students crossing the street in the early morning hours when traffic is particularly heavy, and then again in the afternoon,” district Business Manager Bob Brown said.

No serious accidents near the school have been reported, but Principal Don Bathgate said he is concerned that the steady stream of traffic on Mission Oaks Boulevard endangers students’ lives. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t have a student hit,” he said.

The district hopes to develop the remaining portion of the land into a community playground and athletic fields once the parking lot is built.

Negotiations began in 1980 to buy the property from owners James FitzGerald, Geraldine Chapman FitzGerald, Gerald FitzGerald and Carmelita Nicholson. But they repeatedly stalled over the purchase price. The four agreed to accept the school district’s latest offer.

Certificates of participation to finance the land purchase were issued last December, Brown said.