Apartment Vote and New Road Bring Growth Issues to a Head

A recent debate over whether or not low-income apartments should be built next to San Juan Hills High School showed that much more is at stake than just apartments. The debate raised questions about growth, traffic, land use, and the future of SJHHS after the La Pata road is completed.

The drama began in January when, in a rare show of unity, the CUSD Board of Trustees, unanimously (7-0) to adopt a resolution opposing the development of a 10 acre parcel of land next to SJHHS into low-cost housing. The land, currently valued at $750K, is only partially usable because most of it is under power lines.

Area 2 Trustee, Jim Reardon, who opposed the project, gained the support of others on the board to send a clear message to the City Council urging them to deny a rezoning that would be needed for the project to move forward.

Then, in a move that delighted many in San Juan Capistrano, the City Council voted unanimously (5-0) to deny the proposed rezone for low-income apartments at the urging of the City’s Planning Commission, the CUSD school board, and many in the community.

A TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE

One of the main concerns raised by opponents was the proposed project’s impact on the already terrible traffic that plagues SJHHS. The Planning Commission recommended the Council to deny the project due to the traffic problems.

Opponents, including the CUSD School Board in its resolution, noted apartments would only add to the growing traffic problem.

The developer’s plan had included re-striping the road to create one or two more possible turning lanes. Another improvement would have been the installation of a traffic signal which would be placed on Vista Montana and Via Granada after the right turn off La Pata.

“The unmitigated traffic impacts will have a significant negative effect on students, faculty, staff, and parents with students who will attend San Juan Hills,” the resolution stated.

GROWING PAINS

Another reason the project met with such stern opposition was the issue of growth in the area. Using the land for apartments would take away land needed for SJHHS to grow.

In three years, SJHHS’s projected enrollment will be 2,600 students, which is a 20% increase from what it is today. In order to accommodate for all these incoming students, SJHHS would have to eventually expand their campus.

Additionally, with the Rancho Mission Viejo build-out under way, an estimated 800 students will move to the area in the next 10 years, according to Reardon.

Jameson Johnson said, “Apartments would negatively impact the school because we have the largest open enrollment registration in the district. Around 600 students come here who are supposed to go to other schools.” Johnson is a student at SJHHS and Commissioner on the Youth Advisory Board for the City of San Juan Capistrano.

“If the school doesn’t expand, students from San Juan Capistrano might get pushed out by Talega and Ladera residents who paid for the school through Mello Roos funds,” she said, referring to the fact that residents of Talaga paid for part of the school’s construction and therefore have priority enrollment.

Trustee Reardon agreed, saying, “The best reason to deny the apartments is that in the future this school will have to expand…the campus is smaller than it should be given the number students here now.”

In an interview with The Express, Reardon indicated that CUSD has an interest in purchasing the land for future expansion of SJHHS and that opposing the apartments was, “an effort to preserve an option.” The CUSD resolution stated the land was “the last usable vacant property suitable for expansion and contiguous to the only public high school in the city.”

‘TALEGAEDDON’ FEARED

The La Pata Gap Connector, a 2.27 mile segment of road linking San Clemente to the high school, will break ground this month, according to O.C. Public Works and will start on the San Clemente side at Calle Saluda. That initial phase will be completed in fall of 2016.

“I’m ready! Give me a shovel,” said Julie Einchner, the parent of a Freshman at SJHHS who lives in San Clemente. She attended an informational meeting sponsored by O.C. Public Works showcasing their plan for the project.

But not everyone is thrilled.

Some parents are scared their children might have to attend a school farther away. Talega students, and those in Ladera Ranch, have priority access to SJHHS because they paid Mello Roos funds to build the school. If the school is not ready to accommodate an influx of approximately 600 Talega residents along with existing students, it would fill the school to capacity, sending students from San Juan Capistrano elsewhere.

In an email to the City Council, resident Erica Cox said, “It would be deplorable for S.J.C. students to have to go to San Clemente H.S. or Capo Valley H.S. We have only ONE public high school in our town and it should be used for our students.”

Approximately 80 SJHHS families who live in Capo Beach could get bumped out of SJHHS along with residents of San Juan Capistrano unless SJHHS expands.

“This [road] doesn’t help us at all,” said another SJHHS parent at the OC Public Works road meeting. San Juan Hills H.S. is the shining diamond in CUSD. As soon as the road opens there is going to be a mass migration. San Juan Hills H.S. is going to become Talega’s private school,” she said.

Yet despite these fears, Superintendent Joesph Farley is skeptical there will be a mass migration of Talega students to SJHHS. In an interview with The Express he pointed out that in 2006 Talega residents fought a district plan that would have forced them to attend SJHHS. He also cited the weight of tradition, saying those families are loyal to San Clemente H.S.

Whether a new road will cause Talega residents to change their minds, nobody can say at this point.

What happens to the land is still unknown. It is still owned by the developer, and other buyers are interested in the parcel. CUSD staff have been investigating the status of all properties around the school, according to Reardon.

“The district is still evaluating if it is in the best interest to buy this property. It is only ten acres, and of those ten acres, only two can be used by CUSD with a state approved waiver,” Dr. Farley said.

But SJHHS doesn’t need the land to expand. 10 new portables are already planned for the 2014-15 school year to make room for the growing student population. They will be located on the basketball courts, according to Principal Tom Ressler.

“Even that isn’t enough because we will be growing for the next three years. We’re growing and more people are staying. The district is already rejecting new open enrollment applications to the school,” he said.

Alexea Malaletkin, Brittany Christensen, Macy Drew, Chetana Piravi, Jenna Clemente, Nikki Rastegar, Shane Battis, Mekenna Szabo, and Makayla Thomas also contributed to this report.