Court Sides With Schools in Development Battle

The Los Angeles Unified School District has won the latest battle in its long court war with the city of Los Angeles over Warner Center development.

On Tuesday, a state appeal court ruled the city had improperly approved an expansion of Warner Center without fully assessing how the project would impact two local schools--Canoga Park High School and Parkman Middle School.

In 1995 the city won the first round when a Superior Court decision sided with the city’s contention that any increase in traffic or pollution resulting from the project would be insignificant.

But district officials appealed, maintaining there would be an effect on students in the schools, which would require $5 million in air-conditioners and filtration systems to provide clear air for the students.

Now that the court pendulum has swung in the direction of the district, officials on both sides--who did not hear about the latest decision until Friday--are unclear about the future of the Warner Center expansion.

Ken Bernstein, an aide to Councilwoman Laura Chick, described the decision as a “lose-lose situation for the district and the city.”

“It’s nonsensical for one arm of government to be suing another,” he said, adding the amount of attorneys’ fees the school district spent on the lawsuit would have been better spent on air-conditioners.

But Rich Mason, attorney for the school district, countered that the lawsuit was “bigger than air-conditioners.”

“The court has confirmed the effects on schools need to be taken into account in the development process,” Mason said.

Added school board President Julie Korenstein: “If schools aren’t taken into consideration . . . while development goes on, it’s debilitating for the schools,” she said.

Assistant City Atty. Jack Brown said he was not sure whether the city will appeal the latest decision to the California Supreme Court or ask the appeal court to reconsider.

City officials argued Friday that air-conditioners are part of funding that schools will receive as a result of Proposition BB, a ballot measure that passed in April. The $2.4-million bond measure will pay for improvements in schools ranging from leaky roof repairs to upgrades in antiquated electrical systems.

But Korenstein said Canoga Park High School and Parkman Middle School could put their Proposition BB money to other uses.

The Warner Center Specific Plan, approved by the City Council in 1993, allows the site to more than double in size, from 15 million to 35.7 million square feet. The center, which now includes hotels, offices and apartment complexes, is situated on 1,100 acres bounded by Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Vanowen Street, De Soto Avenue and the Ventura Freeway.