Le Bard sale talks continue

Negotiations to sell a closed school from the Huntington Beach City School District to the city government continue, but no one involved could say how long they might take.

“I think both sides are working in good faith to make this happen,� Councilman Keith Bohr said. “We’re definitely making some progress here, but we’re not there yet.�

The former site of Le Bard Elementary on Craimer Lane now holds the school district’s headquarters, as well as baseball fields now used by youth sports programs. Throughout last fall and winter, it was one of four sites possibly up for sale, but amid pressure by neighborhood groups and private schools that lease district land, the board could only agree to sell Le Bard. Even then, board members said they preferred to sell the property to the city, which would preserve it as open space.

The proposed school sale has had its share of support at public meetings. Seaview Little League members packed Council Chambers last month, pleading for the city to buy the site they use for practices and games. Council members assured them then they would work hard to do so, and voted to invoke legal privileges to have a first shot at buying the property.

The agendas for City Council meetings on the issue all mention a second parcel of land up for discussion, identified only by its property tax number; City planning staff said there were no records of a piece of land with that tax number, and county tax records are blank because the city pays no property tax.

City and school district officials tacitly acknowledged that some of the discussions involved a possible land swap, but said they could not comment on it because of confidentiality rules. What is public knowledge is that district officials are looking for land for two reasons: to replace the headquarters they would be selling, and to move a bus maintenance depot off of Dwyer Middle School land.

City School District Trustee Brian Rechsteiner said he felt sure both sides wanted to be able to make a deal succeed. With an initial 60-day deadline met, there’s time to get it right, he said.

“I think both sides are working hard on this,� he said. “I think everyone would like to make this sale. But there’s definitely more to work out.�

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at [email protected].