MOORPARK : City, Schools to Meet on Site Differences

The Moorpark City Council has asked for a meeting with the Moorpark Unified School District to work out their legal differences over the use of a former high school on Casey Road.

The city sent a letter to Moorpark schools Supt. Tom Duffy requesting that a public meeting be scheduled for a committee that includes two City Council members and two school board members, said Councilwoman Eloise Brown, a committee member.

The district plans to set up the meeting, said Tom Baldwin, a school board member who also serves on the committee.

The dispute began last year when the city tried to buy part of the 26-acre Memorial High School site from the school district for use as a downtown park.

The school district proposed a 340-unit apartment complex for the site, but city zoning permitted only 120 units, Brown said.

The city offered to buy the lower field for $379,000, but the district rejected the proposal. The city filed a lawsuit to limit the number of apartment units, she said.

The school district then sued the city, challenging the creation of a redevelopment agency in the downtown area, contending that it would seriously limit the district’s future tax revenue while contributing to the district’s growth, Baldwin said.

A series of closed meetings between the two public agencies ended about a month ago, Brown said.

The letter asks Duffy to schedule a public meeting as soon as possible. Baldwin said he asked more than a year ago that the meetings be made public.