LAKE FOREST : School Trespassing Ordinance Studied
Trespassing at El Toro High School could become a misdemeanor under an ordinance considered this week by the City Council.
City employees will meet with Saddleback Valley Unified School District officials over the next few weeks to see if the ordinance is needed.
Modeled after a Huntington Beach law, the ordinance would allow authorities to immediately arrest any unauthorized visitor on campus. Current codes require that a person first receive a warning.
Aaron Hand, the high school’s liaison to the City Council, proposed the ordinance, although he said it was not prompted by any incident at the school.
Tuesday’s action, however, comes at a time of increased concern over teen-age violence in South County. Recently, an 18-year-old woman was arrested in a case where two 14-year-old girls were allegedly spirited off the Mission Viejo High School campus and beaten up in a dispute over shoes.
Mayor Richard T. Dixon said he favored the ordinance as a preemptive measure to head off potential problems.
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