Orange Council Votes to Take Land for Park

The Orange City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to condemn 15 acres for a long-planned sports park, barely three weeks after the land was sold for $1.1 million to a private school operator.

About two dozen of the several hundred residents at the council meeting expressed views, some supporting a place for the city’s youths to play soccer and other sports and some backing the school.

A few suggested that the school and the city share the space, an idea the city had already rejected. The five council members opted to take the land to begin filling a void in what many call a park-poor community.

“Fifteen acres is a drop in the bucket. We need to catch up,” said Mayor Joanne Coontz.

The vote legally removes the property from Shepherd Academic, which bought it June 21 from Beazer Homes, a national home-builder based in Atlanta.

How much the city must pay Shepherd, a private school operator, for the property is uncertain, especially since city officials question the structure of the deal between Beazer and Shepherd.

City officials say Beazer reneged on a 16-year-old promise to sell the land to the city for a much-needed sports park. The city zoned the property for a park in 1984 as part of a deal to let Beazer develop its adjacent Rock Creek Ranch townhomes on 85 acres.

The city didn’t have the money to buy the property until this year. The city made two offers, the last for $540,000, but Beazer instead sold the property to Shepherd, lending the school operator $879,000 to close the deal.

City Atty. David A. De Berry said the city now must decide whether to obtain a third appraisal, negotiate with Shepherd or take the issue to court.

“We need to do our due diligence to make sure this was a clean deal. The $1.1 million selling price may not stick,” De Berry said. “There’s still a lot of time to negotiate a settlement.”

Shepherd bought the property to relocate its Oakridge private elementary school this fall, after losing its lease at a site in Tustin.

“Now we’ll have to find a new site,” said businessman George Adams, who was helping the school obtain city approval to use the park for a school.

Kathy Hallman, an Oakridge teacher, said: “The city needs an alternative to the Orange Unified School District.”

As envisioned, Prospect Street Sports Park would have five lighted soccer fields, a gymnasium, a community center and a tot lot. De Berry said the city can begin building the park even during negotiations with Shepherd.

City planners expect the park’s fields will be ready for play in about two years. The community building and gymnasium would be open in about five years.