Council Votes Against Buying School Site

Saying they cannot afford the $6.8-million price tag, City Council members have voted to not buy the Rancho View Elementary School site that has been vacant 11 years.

The city had the right of first refusal on the property at Warner Avenue and Beach Boulevard, being offered for sale by the Ocean View School District.

But the council said “no, thanks” with a 6-0 vote this week. Councilwoman Pam Julien was absent.

“The city, at this point in time, has very little it can do,” Councilman Tom Harman said.

The school district notified the city it intended to sell or lease the 13.5-acre site, which housed the Rancho View school from 1959 to 1976 and is now the home of the Ocean View Little League.

“We’re concerned they’re going to have high-rises” or a retail development, said Ingrid Woken, a nearby resident who spoke to the council. “It’s wonderful playing fields right now.”

After the school closed in 1976, the site housed school district offices for 10 years. Since then, plans have come and gone for apartments and a Price Club store. Meanwhile, neighbors play basketball, baseball and volleyball there.

“We’re very concerned about what is going to go in,” Woken said. “We’re also aware that the area is prime real estate and something will go in there.”

Because the site is a large parcel next to major roads, the city and school district have called it ideal for commercial development.

But neighbors are concerned about the traffic a retail operation would bring.

“We want them to use the land but use it wisely,” said Caressa Wagoner, another neighbor.

In a letter to the city, Ocean View Supt. James R. Tarwater said the school’s buildings are too decrepit to reopen for students.

He said the district will select a developer who will use “the site best to meet the needs of both the district and the surrounding community.”