LOS ALAMITOS

Frosty relations between the city and its school district may freeze a plan to build a park near McAuliffe Middle School, city officials said. City Council members have asked the county to extend a two-year spending deadline for a $200,000 grant to help build lighted soccer fields at the park on Cerritos Avenue, slowing the project pending a resolution to a legal dispute.

The city filed a suit against the Los Alamitos Unified School District in February, alleging that the district ignored environmental laws when it approved plans for a new complex to house the Orange County High School of the Arts. The district’s business director, Ron Murrey, disputes that. Until the suit is resolved, talks will be stalled, Murrey said, although the district would like to see the soccer fields go up. “I would hope we could resolve this before we go to court,” he added.