Students attend class at the Conservation Corps of Long Beach’s charter school located at 3635 Atlantic Ave. that officials said another school of the same type proposed in Signal Hill would “mirror.”
-Staff Writer-
A majority of residents who spoke during a public workshop this week expressed strong opposition to the Conservation Corps of Long Beach’s plans to operate a public charter high school in Signal Hill, but, for now, the proposal has been put on hold while city staff conduct studies on potential parking, traffic and public-safety impacts.
The Conservation Corps is requesting a zoning ordinance amendment and conditional use permit (CUP) to operate its second charter school for adults age 18 to 25, with an enrollment of about 175 students, at a two-story office building at Obispo Avenue and Grant Street.
Endorsed by the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, the proposal would require the City to change its zoning of the site from light industrial to public-charter-school use with possible conditions. The nonprofit school would offer a one-year job placement program and classes for students who dropped out of traditional high school to earn high-school diplomas.
During a packed Planning Commission workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 9 that filled the Council Chamber, most residents spoke out against the proposal. Out of the 15 people who spoke during the meeting, only one person was in favor while the rest either strongly opposed it or requested more information.
The workshop, in addition to a community meeting at Discovery Well Park on Aug. 26 that drew a similar crowd of about 87 people, was conducted to gather input from the public to help city staff and the commission in the CUP process, city staff said.
“I’m seriously concerned about this school,” said Signal Hill resident Peter Navarro. “I think this is the wrong thing for us to do ! It’s two points away from putting in a check-into-cash and a pawn shop. I think we all feel this way, and that’s why we showed up. It’s a really big concern for us.”
Most of the residents’ concerns stem from the fact that the charter school would be located just a half-block away from the Long Beach Unified School District’s (LBUSD) new Browning High School, which is currently under construction and is expected to have about 840 students once completed in 2016. The residential community called Aubry at Alamitos Ridge would be located between both schools.
The Planning Commission agreed to continue the charter-school proposal to another workshop after city staff complete studies on traffic and parking, taking into account the cumulative impacts of both school projects. City staff is also gathering police reports on the Conservation Corps’s existing charter school, located at 3635 Atlantic Ave.
However, it has yet to be determined when the studies will be completed or when the commission will make a recommendation to the City Council at a public hearing.
Signal Hill Assistant Planner Selena Alanis said the City has issued CUPs for a total of 46 properties in the city, ranging from everyday uses to more high-intensity uses, adding that conditions are routinely added to address issues that the community may deem appropriate. She added that all CUPs are reviewed by staff and can be revoked if the use is found to not be in compliance.
Planning Commission Chair Tom Benson noted that, until the studies on traffic, parking and public safety are completed, it would be premature to make any conclusions or assumptions about what kind of impact the charter school may have on the community. He encouraged residents to give “constructive” comments about the proposal.
“We are going to do a traffic study and parking study, however, speculation and drawing conclusions, that’s what we’re going to get from the information we collect,” Benson said. “We really don’t know the answers to that.”
One resident shouted in reaction to Benson’s statement, saying, “We already know the answer,” to which Benson replied, “No you don’t, sir.”
“We like to think we’re good neighbors,” Bassett said. “These are great young people. I would hate to see these guys typified in a way that is so incredibly inappropriate to the young people that we serve! I believe there’s perhaps some misunderstandings and perhaps some misinformation.”
He noted that the 62 parking spaces at the building proposed for the charter school at 1982 Obispo Ave. would be adequate for students and staff, adding that 95 percent of the students would use public transportation to get to school. Bassett also noted that requiring students not be allowed to eat at local fast-food restaurants or take breaks at Discovery Well Park would be “unconstitutional.”
Still, Benson noted that many residents are concerned about the charter-school proposal because impacts from LBUSD’s proposed “thematic” high school, which would be bounded by Hill Street, Obispo Avenue and Redondo Avenue in the city of Long Beach, have yet to be realized.
“There’s a concern of the unknown,” Benson said.
“[Residents’] concerns are real. When you say ‘being a good neighbor’ we want good neighbors, and we have to establish what that means. We have a parking and traffic study underway and we’re going to have a police study to get actual statistics of behavior. We’re not going to make a decision until we have all the information one way or another.”
During the workshop, Bassett said there aren’t any reports of criminal incidents caused by Conservation Corps members or students, however he did mention that one student was stabbed to death in an alleyway by a convicted felon who was let out of prison.
Meanwhile, other residents brought up concerns about the fact that the charter school would be governed by the five-member Glenn County Board of Education, which is located in Orland, Calif., nearly 500 miles away from Signal Hill, adding that it would be hard for local residents to bring up issues with the governing board. In addition, city staff noted that Vice Mayor Larry Forester, who serves on the Gateway Cities Council of Governments for Signal Hill, would recuse himself from voting on the proposal.
Aside from the public workshop and community meetings, the City of Signal Hill also scheduled public tours at the Conservation Corps’s existing facility, which it has owned and operated on Atlantic Avenue for nearly 13 years.
“We’re a small learning community with 150 students,” Stroup said during the tour. “We get to know them personally.”
He added that the facility in Signal Hill would essentially “mirror” the Long Beach school, noting that the existing facility has enough parking spaces for the same number of students and staff that would be at the Signal Hill location.
Bassett, who also led the tour, said the need for alternative education services for young people in the greater Long Beach area is so great that the Conservation Corps is looking to expand its student body by moving into the new location in Signal Hill, which would be centrally located.
“We have room to grow the school,” said Bassett, who added that many students are able to obtain scholarships and apprenticeship programs.
Diane Kert, a Signal Hill resident who attended the tour, commented during the public workshop that she was “impressed” with the facility.
“About 50 percent of the students are female,” she said. “A lot of them are young parents. They are trying to get their life started because they had dropped out of high school earlier! It can be difficult for a community to accept new people in the community, but I think this is a worthwhile cause, and we do need to get young people into the job market and ready for the job market.”
Some of the students interviewed by the Signal Tribune during the tour said they see the charter school as a “second chance” for a new life and a path toward a career, adding that they are serious about their futures.
“I chose to come back to school to get my high-school diploma, and it’s been a great experience so far,” said Emerald Knighton, 23, who said she dropped out of Jordan High School and Will J. Reid continuation school after ditching class and now is pregnant with her fourth child. “I feel like I’m going to succeed within the next two months for 30 credits, which is a really big deal.”
