Bill Would Make Tustin Give Land for School

Assemblyman Lou Correa introduced a bill Thursday that would force Tustin to give Santa Ana schools a parcel of former military land to build a kindergarten-through-college campus.

Tustin officials responded angrily, saying the move by Correa (D-Anaheim) threatens their negotiations with the Santa Ana Unified school and Rancho Santiago Community College districts over as much as 122 acres of Tustin Marine Air Base, which closed in 1999.

Tustin officials said they had expected Correa to let them work on the issue until Feb. 23, the deadline to introduce legislation for this session.

“We’re not going to negotiate with a gun to our head,” Tustin City Manager William A. Huston said. “Why anybody would want to pull the trigger this soon, I have no idea.”

But Correa said Tustin has had eight years to settle a matter that in the past three weeks has provoked several confrontations. Santa Ana school officials want at least 80 acres for the campus. Tustin has offered 20 acres and $20 million. The legislation would designate at least 100 acres of the base property, which totals 1,561 acres.

On Jan. 16, the Tustin City Council approved a $200-million redevelopment plan that largely cut out Santa Ana schools while giving land to South County schools, including Irvine and the South Orange Community College District.

That plan would require approval from the Department of the Navy before Tustin could take over the base.

Since the vote, tension between the cities has flared up.

Correa, whose district includes Santa Ana, said Thursday, “They’ve been sticking it to us for a long time. We’re saying, ‘We’re not going to take this sitting down.’ ”

The Assembly passed an identical bill in December 1999, but it died in the Senate. This time, 43 Assembly members and 10 senators, including Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana), have signed on as co-authors.

“For the life of me, I have not been able to understand Tustin’s resistance to reach a fair compromise,” Dunn said. “It’s going to be very difficult for Tustin to succeed this time. It’s in their best interest to settle.”

But City Manager Huston said even if the bill passes, the state has no authority over the former military installation. The Navy decides who takes possession of closed bases, as well as who has the authority to decide what goes on those bases, Huston said.

“This is a horrible waste of time,” he said. “All it does is cast a very serious shadow over the negotiations.”

The disputed land is within the boundaries of the Santa Ana Unified School District, which for years has been struggling with campus overcrowding.

But Tustin officials want to use the former air base primarily for housing developments, schools for Irvine and Tustin, a golf course and businesses.

The fight is not the first between the two cities over a similar issue. In the late 1960s, they battled over which would annex the former Santa Ana Naval Air Station, a fight that Tustin eventually won.