OXNARD : Request for Study of School Site Rejected

The board of the Oxnard Elementary School District voted unanimously Wednesday night against seeking an environmental impact report for a proposed intermediate school in the La Colonia neighborhood, moving a step closer to construction of the $16-million school.

The vote came despite objections from Marc L. Charney, an attorney who represents the company that owns the 25-acre proposed site. Charney told the board that an initial study of the proposed Robert J. Frank Intermediate School indicated that a full environmental report was needed.

Charney, who represents the F.M. Daily Oxnard Ranch Co., said the district should seek the report to determine what increase in noise, pollution and traffic the 1,200-student school would bring to the area, proposed for Juanita Avenue near North Alley.

Charney said the school would add 1,165 cars a day to Old Colonia Road and Juanita Avenue, both two-lane streets leading to the proposed site.

Board members, however, said the initial study was sufficient and addresses the school’s potential impact on the neighborhood. The school is scheduled to open by September, 1993.

Supt. Norman Brekke said district officials have been working for three years to build the badly needed school, but construction has been delayed because of disputes over its location and the cost of the land.

Land-value estimates have ranged from $70,000 an acre by a district-hired appraiser to $250,000 an acre by the owners, Brekke said.

The district would have to condemn the land to acquire it.