OXNARD : Board Says School to Affect Area Little

Moving Oxnard High School to farmland about two miles from its present location would have no significant environmental effects, the Oxnard school board decided Wednesday.

“I think it is time we gave students a state-of-the-art school,” board Vice President Jean B. Daily said.

The Oxnard Union High School District has been considering the relocation for nearly two years, since state officials declared the school’s present site unsafe because of its proximity to Oxnard Airport. The school, at 5th Street and Hobson Way, is about 1,800 feet from the airport runway.

By unanimously approving the final environmental impact report on the move, the board took a step toward purchasing one of two proposed sites, both 80-acre parcels on Gonzales Road near Patterson Road. The report found that the school would have no significant environmental effects.

Opponents of the move have cited problems ranging from disappearance of valuable farmland to increased crime and air pollution.

A public hearing earlier this year drew dozens of residents, including homeowners from the nearby Summerfield and River Ridge developments.

Board member Janet Lungren said residents of the housing developments did not mind that the agricultural land was destroyed to make way for their homes. However, they are opposed to farmland being used for a high school.

Robert Braitman, head of the Local Agency Formation Commission, complained that the board certified the document without letting the public have an opportunity to see the responses to the draft report.