Sportstown Environment Report Gets Council’s OK

Despite the objections of two school districts, an environmental study for the Sportstown Anaheim project was approved unanimously without debate Tuesday by the City Council.

The decision clears the way for city officials to aggressively seek private investors to develop Sportstown--a huge entertainment, retail and sports complex planned for 159 acres at Anaheim Stadium.

The environmental impact report, required under state law, was approved in May by the Planning Commission. However, that decision was appealed last month by the Anaheim Union High and Anaheim City school districts, making council approval necessary for the project to proceed.

John E. Brown, an attorney representing the districts, called the environmental study “deficient in many respects.”

Among the flaws, he said, are underestimates of both the number of jobs that would be generated by Sportstown and the number of new students who would attend local schools as a result of the project.

Therefore, Brown said, Sportstown would create a financial burden that amounts to “an unfunded mandate being imposed by your city on the school districts.”

Mayor Tom Daly, responding Tuesday, said, “I think all those concerns have been dealt with adequately and fairly.”

City planners dispute the school district’s contention and point out that because no housing is planned for Sportstown, the project would not directly generate new students. Planners also note that the impact of Sportstown has been lessened with the scaling down of proposed office space from 2.1 million square feet to 250,000 square feet.

Current plans for Sportstown include 750,000 square feet of entertainment and retail space, 500 hotel rooms and a 150,000-square-foot exhibition center.