VENTURA COUNTY ROUNDUP : Simi Valley : Land Sale by School District in Dispute

The trouble-racked sale of 36 acres of land by the Simi Valley Unified School District to a Santa Monica-based developer is still viable, according to district officials.

The sale of the land, located across the street from City Hall, is scheduled to close escrow on Saturday. But the district and the developer, New Urban West Inc., are in a dispute over city sewer lines that run beneath the property.

New Urban West successfully bid $14 million for the property in June. But the developer, apparently unaware of a sewer easement on the property, sent a letter to the district canceling its purchase contract, school officials said.

The district has not yet resolved the dispute in time for the close of escrow, but the deal is not dead, said Lowell Schultze, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services.

“We are still in negotiations,” Schultze said.

The existence of the easement is a matter of public record and on the property title, Schultze added.

But when asked if New Urban West is still interested in purchasing the property, Tom Zanic, the company’s vice president, said, “At this time, we’re not.”

Zanic referred other questions to the school district.

The cash-strapped school district wants to use proceeds from the sale for debt retirement and to provide local matching money needed to apply for California voter-approved school construction bonds.