Coastal Commission approval creates additional high school headaches
Issues that remain will likely take years to resolve

The Coastal Commissioners denied Watsonville its Local Coastal Program amendments as proposed on March 16, but allowed the construction of a high school with certain conditions...a bunch of them.

By Peter Nichols
pnichols@tellingthetruth.com

WATSONVILLE _ With excitement building among local students and parents for their new high school, and district officials reportedly holding their breath for aeronautics approval, and opponents contemplating their next move, a cloud of uncertainty hovers over Harkins Slough Rd.

Perhaps the biggest question presented by the Coastal Commission action surrounds the requirement for an evaluation of the entire property for suitability as a school site due to proximity to the airport and overhead flight patterns.

And the list of other issues remaining to be addressed is truly staggering.

The school's projected site location on northern portions of the property create the need for the district to negotiate the purchase of the whole property rather than half of it. To develop that northern portion will also require a new Environmental Impact Report.

The reduced agriculture buffers there threaten to put students at risk from agriculture related impacts. And the commission requires that a more thorough geotechnical investigation, be conducted prior to the issuance of a coastal development permit.

The Santa Cruz tarplant, recently added to the federal list of threatened species is suspected of being present on the property. Access to the school from Airport Blvd. was suggested to eliminate the need for new off-ramps at Harkins Slough Rd., but that could create additional problems. And serious Memorandum of Understanding requirements remain to be addressed.

Also, the threat of lawsuits from environmental and school safety oriented groups remains a concern, and the availability of state funds to purchase the site and build the school are not expected to last forever.

But clearly, the requirement that the site be evaluated to determine where _ if at all _ a school could safely be located is a potential deal breaker.

The report approved by the commissioners spells out in great detail the changed circumstances relating to the 1992 and 1997 aeronautics evaluations and the Coastal Act requirement that the proposed uses within the coastal zone not be a hazardous.

The 1992 evaluation, which reversed a 1987 evaluation and found the site suitable for school use, focused on a smaller site than the district intended to develop located about one mile from the west end of the main runway.

The Coastal Commission's decision forcing a re-siting of facilities away from Harkins Slough Rd. was due to requirements that wetlands there remain undeveloped. The district and city had sought to in-fill some of those wetlands to keep the school within the parameters approved by the aeronautics evaluations.

If the entire site approved by the commission _ now approximately 50 acres _ were to be used for school facilities, those facilities would be located one-half mile from the runway at the north end of the school site and one mile at the south end.

Airport Manager Don French who is on record as saying air traffic is not a safety issue for the school, predicted even the new configuration would not create real safety concerns. He was however, waiting for precise details before rendering his opinion.

He said planes typically fly at an altitude of 1,000 feet above ground level in the area of the proposed high school but that some planes fly at considerably lower altitudes.

There appear to be some differences of opinion as to what exactly is meant by the Coastal Commission's ruling regarding the airport evaluation.

John Casey, Superintendent of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District said perhaps the portion of the site previously approved by the Department of Education would remain approved, and the more northerly portion of the property would be evaluated separately.

He said changes were being made to the site design and those would be sent to the DOE for approval. He said very little progress could be made on the project until these evaluations were complete and the result may be a smaller school than the district had envisioned _ or none at all.

John Dominguez, the project consultant for the School Facilities Planning Division of the DOE said they have the 1997 letter from the Aeronautics Program certifying the site for school use, and his office would rely on that evaluation.

He said he would assess the new site design with DOT experts, but a full evaluation was not necessarily required. Regarding the possibility that some facilities may have to be located outside of the approved area _ since that area is smaller than the district's site plan _ Dominguez said approval would depend on what facilities are outside of that area, and how far outside they are.

``We have a letter from the DOT that says the site is suitable for a school,'' he said. ``The Coastal Commission's requirement that the site be reevaluated is not our concern. That's between the district and the Coastal Commission.''

Coastal Commission staff council Diane Landry doesn't understand the controversy. ``A new evaluation means just that, a new evaluation of the whole site,'' she said. ``If we meant an evaluation of the portion not previously evaluated, we would have said that.''

Marlin Beckwith, Department of Transportation Aviation Program Director said he was expecting a request from the Department of Education to evaluate the site but as yet hasn't received it.

When asked whether the new evaluation would rely on the 1997 evaluation for that part of the site previously approved, he said, ``We will treat it like a new school site.''

According to Beckwith, the DOT uses a team approach. Dan Gargas, airport safety inspector for the department _ who has come under criticism regarding the adequacy of his two previous evaluations _ will take the lead role. ``We have a land use planner, a noise specialist and an environmental specialist along with the aviation consultant,'' Beckwith said.

Insisting that procedures for evaluations have not changed in recent years, and that politics would not be a part of the evaluation, he said, ``We follow a criteria and let the chips fall where they may.''

Assemblyman Fred Keeley said his staff have been in contact with Gargas but not since the Coastal Commission decision. He did not, however, rule out the possibility that he might be called upon to discuss aspects of the matter with DOT officials.

``I have not been involved in that issue, but I am available if requested to do so.'' Keeley said. ``My view of my role has been to try to facilitate progress.''

Though the suitability of the site from the standpoint of airport issues remains up in the air, the useable portions of the property relative to Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA) and agriculture use are not.

An eleventh-hour compromise which effectively increased the total acreage for school use by eliminating certain agriculture buffers was reached literally moments before the Coastal Commission voted on the matter

It was Keeley, during discussions with Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas and Casey, who proposed reducing the agriculture buffers along certain property boarders. Though 200 foot buffers were proposed within the staff report to separate agriculture use and insure student safety, Keeley said their reduction to 50 feet was necessary to make the school a possibility since the ESHA restrictions were making it impossible.

``I remember raising the issue of buffers asking what was the policy and were there precise standards,'' he said. ``I learned there is a policy but no precise standards, so I said let's examine the site and see where buffer reduction can be accomplished.''

The most significant reduction of buffer occurred on the west boundary at the north end of the property. That part of the school will be directly down wind and only 50 feet from fields that are currently planted in strawberries and which are routinely treated with methyl bromide.

Casey said the district has had success working with farmers who have agreed to spray on weekends and he expected that cooperation to continue. One provision, however, as part of the new Local Coastal Program calls for the city to initiate a ``Right to farm and hold harmless'' ordinance, protecting farmers from pressures associated with land uses adjacent to farm land.

One result of the Coastal Commission's action is the need for an entirely new Environmental Impact Report covering the approximately 70 acres of the property not previously examined under the California Environmental Quality Act (SEQA). That report would likely require an updated alternative site analysis which would re-open an issue previously abandoned by the Coastal Commission staff.

Commissioner Paula Daniels of Los Angeles was the lone "nay" vote on the panel that voted 9-1 to allow the high school to go forward. Commissioner Cecilia Estolano was absent for the voting.

Though Commissioners Christina Desser and Paula Daniels both quizzed the district on the availability of alternative sites, the local staff essentially took that issue off the table.

Though a slide presentation showing alternative and available sites was made by an opposition group at the commission hearing, Douglas said they elected not to challenge the city on the issue of alternative sites.

``There may be alternatives,'' he said. ``But I didn't feel it was our place to debate whether there were feasible alternatives when the city and district said there weren't any. ''

According to Casey, not only would a new EIR be required, but so would the associated public comments and public hearings. As yet, no one has ventured a guess as to how long it might take to complete a new EIR, but the district's first one took five years to complete. And since the law suit over the original EIR is still under appeal, a new one could also be challenged.

Along with the added SEQA burden, is the additional expense associated with purchasing the entire 130 acre parcel. The district initially sought to condemn the property and acquire it through eminent domain proceedings. That issue was scheduled to go to trial before the Coastal Commission hearing but was postponed until July of this year.

The attorney for Ralph and Kathleen Edwards appeared at the commission hearing and indicated that the owners would be willing sellers if the entire property would be purchased. They maintained that taking the southern portion would leave them with property of little value.

Appraisers of the district and the property owner have offered their estimates of fair market value for the 70 acres previously considered. The district's estimate is $1.54 million while the property owner's is $3.6 million. Estimates of value of the entire property are sure to be higher.

Casey said, given the restriction that have been placed on the property, he thinks the state will approve the additional funding, though there were no guarantees.

A little known provision within the staff report addresses the Santa Cruz tarplant which is thought to grow in the vicinity of the new high school. On Tuesday that plant was added to the Endangered Species Act's list of threatened species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. If the plant is found on portions of the property, they will be designated as ESHA and also spared from development.

In February, 2000 the only access to the proposed high school was flooded and the road closed by the Watsonville Police Department.

With the school site stretching so far north, an access option the commission suggests be considered is from Airport Blvd. If that were possible, it would eliminate the requirement that a bridge be constructed on Harkins Slough Rd. over Struve Slough.

City Development Director John Doughty said, while that access option solved some problems, it created others. A new road there, like Harkins Slough Rd., would be a county road and would have to cross parcels of private property.

Casey said that access would reduce the impact of adjacent agriculture use on the school since a new road would be constructed along the buffer and make the compromise reducing the size of buffers less of an issue.

Though officials remain publicly optimistic about the outcome, there is some concern that a law suit might be filed challenging the Coastal Commission's decision to convert prime agriculture land within the coastal zone and allow a school to be built there. That action would delay the project even further.

According to Bill Parkin, attorney for local environmental organizations who previously sued the district over their EIR, groups have 60 days from the date of the Coastal Commission's decision to challenge that action in court.

There are now 51 of those days remaining.

Sharon Gray, school board trustee, said she doesn't expect the Sierra Club _ the most powerful of those groups who might sue _ to get involved in a law suit at this point.

``They have been behind Keeley,'' she said. ``I can't imagine them trying to legally stop a project he is so firmly behind. Fred has put them in a very difficult position.''

According to Parkin, there is a legitimate case for legal action on Coastal Act grounds, but the question remains whether the legal ramifications out weigh the social and political reality.

``Keeley has been a friend of environmentalists on a lot of things,'' he said. ``But you can't make it personal. The Sierra club could find the decision to be so precedent setting that they can't let it go.'' he said.

So, with anticipation mounting, and all systems go, and the likelihood that New Millennium High may indeed some day be built, there will remain only one question to ask.

``Was it worth it?''