NEWPORT BEACH : School Board Looks at Eastbluff Options

Plans to open a community college at the Eastbluff Kindergarten Center may be put on hold while trustees at Newport-Mesa Unified School District consider the alternative of leasing the site for a day-care center.

Some residents had been angered by the idea of putting a college there, saying noise and traffic would harm their Upper Newport Bay neighborhood.

The trustees will discuss alternatives--including the day-care idea--at their meeting tonight. The cash-strapped district is looking for ways to bring in additional revenue.

Several day-care operators have expressed interest in using the site, and a supportive group of parents needing local day care has asked the board to consider that option.

“We don’t want it sitting empty any more than the school board does,” said Scott Daruty, a representative of some Eastbluff homeowners, who has lobbied for a day-care center instead of the college.

Coastline Community College officials plan to continue discussing putting a campus there, and said they are unsure if the original college proposal would be changed to meet residents’ concerns.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be changes or if it’s going to stay the same,” said Ann Garten of the Coast Community College District, which oversees Coastline. “They’re discussing everything at this point.”

In the two months since the last public discussion of the proposal, both school board members and college officials have met repeatedly with neighbors to work out concerns about the plan.

A few residents have supported the proposal, saying they would enjoy taking college classes close to home.

Those opposed, however, have worried about increased late-night traffic and other effects on their quiet residential area. Some argue that the district should not lease the site because it could fill future elementary-school needs in the district.

College officials have countered that the average age of a student at its campuses is 35, hardly a corps of raucous young high school graduates, but instead responsible adults seeking additional education.

The college would bring up to 300 additional cars to the neighborhood for classes that would be in session between 9 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.

The school board is not expected to vote on the issue tonight.