BREA : School Board Will Not Join Consortium Yet

Brea Olinda Unified School District board members have decided to see if the city approves a plan to develop Olinda Heights before joining a consortium led by the Cal State Fullerton Foundation that favors low-income housing for university and school district employees.

The City Council has yet to consider the project, and trustees feared that by joining the consortium now, city officials would consider the move as an endorsement of the development.

Foundation officials said the consortium would offer school district employees the opportunity to buy affordable housing.

Santa Fe Resources Inc. wants to build 867 homes on 277 acres in Olinda Heights. The foundation wants 395 of those homes made available for affordable housing for faculty and other university employees. The consortium wants an additional 232 homes made available to employees of several surrounding school and college districts.

If school districts do not join the consortium, the 232 homes would be offered at market value, said Bill Dickerson, executive director of Cal State Fullerton Foundation. To join the consortium, school and college districts each must pay a $5,000 fee.

Brea Olinda school trustees said they favor low-income housing for district employees but did not want to commit $5,000. They said the district’s teachers and classified employees unions will be told that they may join the consortium.