CYPRESS : School’s Land Use Request Rejected

City Council members this week voted 4 to 1 to deny Brethren Christian School’s request to use a vacant parcel of land for a temporary school and sports field.

Council members said they don’t think it would be an appropriate use for the 8.2-acre lot on the southwest corner of Cerritos Avenue and Walker Street, which is owned by First Church of the Nazarene.

The south side of the parcel, where Brethren proposed to set up a modular school and practice playing fields for three years, is not zoned for that, city officials said.

Because Brethren’s junior high school at 5172 Orange Ave. is overcrowded, the school wanted to house some students in a temporary facility on the Nazarene property until a permanent facility could be purchased.

Dennis R. Brown, Brethren’s president and superintendent, said: “We’re in a position where we need a facility. We need to do something for our own existence and we want to stay in Cypress.” The council’s action, he said, “places us in a difficult situation.”