PLAYGROUND FIGHT
A legal tussle could mark a new middle school project in Manhattan Beach. Neighbors near the proposed school have hired a law firm to challenge the Manhattan Beach Unified School District for its decision not to conduct an environmental impact report on the proposed school building. The reports are required for all new buildings and projects to show how the new traffic and construction will affect the surrounding area.
The La Marina Neighborhood Assn., a group of 40 neighbors, is worried about the traffic that would be generated by 1,600 students going to class every day. Don Harling, president of the association, said Tuesday that the group has hired the Los Angeles law firm of Cummins & White to file a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court to require the school district to do a report.
The neighborhood association wants the school to be built on land at Polliwog Park, instead of next to Polliwog Park, keeping traffic farther from their homes. School district officials say an environmental impact report is not necessary because the new $17-million middle school, scheduled to open in September 1998, is on an existing school site.
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