Simi Council May Lend School District $300,000 to Develop Site

In a move that could change the future of one of the last large chunks of prime developable land in Simi Valley, the City Council is set Monday to consider lending $300,000 to the Simi Valley Unified School District to help develop a vacant former school site.

Since the late 1980s, school officials have been trying to decide what to do with a 36-acre field at the northeast corner of Tapo Canyon Road and Alamo Street, across from Simi Valley’s City Hall and library.

The land was earmarked in the 1970s as the site of a third high school, but that idea died after enrollment declined and taxpayers refused to support spending the money.

The district then tried developing the field into a 25-acre shopping plaza in 1990, but protests from neighboring homeowners put an end to that idea, schools Supt. Mary Beth Wolford said.

Now the district hopes to explore the possibility of developing a residential neighborhood there, including affordable apartments for the elderly.

The pressure to develop is coming from the state Department of Education, which is fining the district $44,000 a year for failing to use a designated school site, Wolford said.

The district, unwilling to shortchange students to cover development expenses, is asking the city for a five-year loan at 5.83% interest to pay for development plans and land-use analyses, Wolford said.

“It’s a jewel of a piece of property, right in the center of our community,” she said. “It’s right across from our governmental center; it has wonderful access from the [Simi Valley] freeway. It’s the last solid piece of property in the heart of our community.”

The land, she said, is worth millions.

Wolford said proceeds from developing and selling the property would go to pay off the loan, then to cover any ongoing district debts, and finally to benefit the district itself.