City, School District Clash Over Land Use at Bristol Site

City officials envision luxury homes, a park or golf links on the 15 acres at 2828 N. Bristol St., at the city’s northern tip.

The school district may put a high school there.

The owner of the land, a nonprofit corporation that runs alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers, simply wants to sell the land.

While any number of competing interests are involved in the property, the looming battle highlights the long-standing conflict between the city of Santa Ana and the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Even in a city whose motto is “Education 1st,” conflict between the two government bodies may be inevitable given Santa Ana Unified’s pursuit of land for schools and the city’s pursuit of tax dollars through homes and businesses.

But Santa Ana’s history has added to the contentious relationship between the city and the school district.

Immigration, combined with apartment and condominium construction, contributed to a population boom in the late 1980s. The result is a school district that has only been able to keep pace with increased enrollment by adding portable classrooms to every school.

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Other fast-growing school districts have been able to use homeowners’ fees as new houses are constructed. But Santa Ana, one of the county’s oldest cities, has long been built out.

“It’s difficult to find property for schools,” said deputy schools superintendent John Bennett.

Despite this background, the city and school district have found opportunities for cooperation.

Approximately 10 years ago, the city lent the school district $8 million to build classrooms, a program both city and school officials deem a success.

The city and school district, help sponsor a yearly forum called Santa Ana 2000 to showcase various programs.

But relations between the city and school seem to sour when it comes to the use of land.

In 1985, Santa Ana went to court to stop the school district from building Century High School in an area the city wanted to reserve for businesses. How bad were relations at that point?

“That [the lawsuit] was almost an improvement,” said City Councilman Robert L. Richardson, who served on the school board after the lawsuit was filed, “because now you had the issues being addressed.”

The lawsuit was dismissed, but school district officials said it was instrumental in their decision to find another spot for Century High.

Tempers flared again when the district placed a school next to a shopping center at Bristol and 17th streets. Residents and city officials complained about the high cost of the land, eventually purchased for $18.5 million, and the school’s disruptive effect on business.

With the school still on the minds of residents and city officials, the placing of a school at 2828 N. Bristol St. is again straining relations.

“Someone will try to show up to every school board meeting from now on to tell them [board members] we do not want a school there,” said Santa Ana resident Marlene Mooney, who is organizing people opposed to a school at the site.

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Wendy Tobiska, president of the Santa Ana Council of PTAs, said the city government and school district need to communicate better, even if it means placing a member of the school board on the city Planning Commission.

“They’re like toddlers,” she said of the two groups. “They play side by side, but they don’t really interact, or work together.”

Jack Blackburn, executive director of landowner Cooper Fellowship Inc., said his Fountain Valley-based company is willing to sell the land, which he valued at about $8 million. But the school district or the city could also condemn the property.

In another twist, the land actually sits in the Orange Unified School District. But that district has given preliminary approval for the Santa Ana school district to annex the land.

School Trustee Rosemarie Avila cautioned that a school on the Bristol site is not imminent. She noted that the district does not have the money for a new school.

However, the school district could borrow money to pay for a new school, schools facilities director Mike Vail said.

“I’m not real anxious for [the site] to be a school,” said Avila, “but I’m not going to close the door.”

City officials say they are prepared to offer approximately 19 acres at Centennial Park for a school that, combined with adjacent land owned by the district, would result in a 34-acre site--closer to the standard size of a high school than the Bristol property.

Richardson said he understands the need for more classrooms but will try to dissuade school officials from building on the Bristol site because the plot of land is too small.

“Whatever gets built there, it’s a 75- to 100-year decision,” he said. “Let’s do it right.”