Trust Fund Approved for School Pollution Cleanup

Ending a long legal dispute with the Los Angeles Unified School District, city officials agreed Tuesday to set up a trust fund to pay for relieving air pollution at two San Fernando Valley schools caused by the expansion of Warner Center.

The fund will require developers building projects near Canoga Park High School and Parkman Middle School to pay 10 cents per square foot of affected land.

Up to $1.3 million could eventually flow to the schools, earmarked for air quality improvements such as air-conditioning upgrades.

After a brief discussion, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the settlement, which stems from a 1993 lawsuit the school district filed over Warner Center’s environmental impact.

The deal bodes well for future land-use decisions before the city and the school district, Councilwoman Laura Chick said.

“The city and the district need to work closely together as partners, not as adversaries pursuing each other,” Chick said.

Most Warner Center property owners within the affected area also favor the settlement, said Brad Rosenheim, executive director of the Warner Center Assn.

“There was this cloud of uncertainty as to what fee would be imposed,” Rosenheim said. “The property owners here wanted certainty. They wanted the thing to end in a reasonable manner.”