Fund Backed to Help Schools Fight Smog

The city should set up a trust fund to help pay for air pollution problems for local schools created by the expansion of Warner Center over the next decade, according to a report released Monday.

The environmental study concluded that the effect would be substantial on Canoga Park High School and Parkman Middle School.

The study is the result of a lawsuit filed two years ago by the Los Angeles Unified School District against the city.

The study found that there would be negative noise and air-quality effects on the two schools if 35.7-million square feet of additional office and commercial buildings are constructed through 2010.

The report, to be considered by the city Planning Commission on Thursday, stated that the air and noise problems would mostly be caused by construction of projects within 500 feet of the schools.

Both schools are air-conditioned. But a new, more effective air-filtering system may be required, according to Bradley Hogin, an attorney for the school district.

“It might need to be upgraded,” he said. “We’re still assessing it.”

Originally, the school district had asked for $3 million to provide soundproofing and air-filtration systems at the two schools. One high-level city official estimated it could cost $8 million to $11 million to install all of the mitigation measures required by the study.

“Depending on what the school district and the mitigation plan deems necessary, the cost could be exorbitant,” said Brad Rosenheim, executive director of the Warner Center Assn. Bob Sutton, a deputy city planner, said he does not think the cost will be very high, noting that there are grading management plans and other proposals that may help reduce air pollution.

“It [the negative impact] can be mitigated to an acceptable level without unreasonable expenses,” Sutton said.

Much of the Warner Center property would not affect the schools so the owners of those parcels would not have to pay for mitigation, Sutton added. That could shift the financial burden to properties close to the schools, including Topanga Plaza, which has considered whether to expand near the high school.

A spokesman for the shopping center declined to comment.

City and school officials said there is still room for negotiations before settling on a plan to protect the schools from undue hardships.