School Fight Blocks Reuse of Tustin Base

A nagging impasse over construction of schools on the closed Tustin Marine base continues to block a redevelopment plan approved last month by the Navy.

The sticking point is whether the Santa Ana Unified School District will build on 22 acres of base land offered by Tustin, or whether the district will fall back on a state law signed by Gov. Gray Davis that requires it to receive 100 acres before Tustin can develop the land.

Both sides accused the other of foot-dragging last week, even as a settlement proposal was faxed to Washington for reaction from the Navy, which owns the property but eventually will give most of it to Tustin.

“We have reached a snag on issues on the table, [but] we’re still discussing,�’ Tustin City Manager William A. Huston said. “We’re at that point to make a decision. If we’ve got to litigate for the next five years, so be it.�

Huston said the city will wait 30 more days to see if a deal can be sealed, then will let the debate shift to state and federal courts.

The schools’ attorney, Edmond M. Connor, said the district has “given up as much as we’re going to give up.� About 160 acres of the base lies within the district’s boundaries.

“If people were motivated to get it done, I see this happening really quick,� Connor said of a deal, which both sides have wrangled over for a year.

Nothing has happened quickly at the Tustin helicopter base since it was targeted for closure in 1993.

Santa Ana Unified and Rancho Santiago Community College District in Santa Ana were among five school districts for which land was earmarked in a 1994 redevelopment plan. That plan was shelved by the city and replaced with a new one that gave land to the Tustin and Irvine school districts, as well as to the South Orange County Community College District. City officials argued that they couldn’t pay for improvements needed on the base if they turned over so many acres to Santa Ana--land envisioned for a commercial center.

What followed was eight years of fighting among the parties, including two state lawsuits, two federal lawsuits and the state legislation, which blocks Tustin from developing the land unless a deal with Santa Ana Unified is reached.

Rancho Santiago settled its differences with Tustin this month and will get 15 acres. The Santa Ana Unified board voted last week to begin a process that could lead to condemnation of its state-ordered 100 acres. Under that scenario, the district would have to buy the property for fair-market value.

Last month, Navy officials issued an ultimatum to Tustin to reach agreement with the districts or see the federal government sell the base to developers. Navy officials flew to Orange County; after three days of talks, they approved giving most of the base to Tustin, regardless of the impasse with Santa Ana. The Navy will keep 240 acres to sell, with the proceeds to help cover the estimated $1-billion cost of closing the Tustin base and the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The remaining holdup with Tustin centers on what happens if soil contamination prevents Santa Ana Unified from building on the 22 acres offered. Tustin would also give the district $38 million to buy property in Santa Ana for a high school, but it would not be enough to buy a high school and another school site if the base land can’t be used.

So far, neither side knows whether the acreage is suitable for a school site, which must meet stringent rules enforced by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control. The 22 acres, on base land that lies outside the district’s boundaries, could be contaminated, district officials have said. The land within district boundaries has already been certified as free of contamination.

The school district wants guarantees that if it cannot build on the smaller parcel, it will get either land elsewhere--a longshot, because no other property on the base is available--or more cash.

Lawyers for Tustin and Santa Ana Unified will be in state court April 4 to address a lawsuit filed by Tustin. The city wants a judge to bless its approval of a homeless housing project to be operated by the Orange County Rescue Mission. Huston said the project is exempted from the state law aiding Santa Ana and can be developed without delay.

A May 22 hearing is scheduled for the state suit filed by Santa Ana Unified over Tustin’s failure to turn over the land authorized by the Legislature. A status conference will be held June 3 on the third suit--federal litigation filed by Santa Ana Unified charging that Tustin’s plan violates the civil rights of minority students. There is no hearing set for the other federal lawsuit filed by Tustin, which challenges the state’s authority to intervene in how base land is distributed.

“[Tustin’s] boat is moving in closer to the rock,� Connor said of the impending court cases. “If that’s what they want to do, that’s fine.�