The Conservation Corps of Long Beach has suspended plans to operate a new public charter high school for adults age 18 to 25 at this two-story office building in Signal Hill. The Conservation Corps Board of Directors are expected to discuss the organization’s next steps in October.
Staff Writer
The Conservation Corps of Long Beach has abruptly halted its plans to operate a new public charter high school in Signal Hill, citing rising costs for a city permit process after some residents have expressed concerns that the school may bring crime, traffic and parking problems to the area.
According to a letter from the City that was mailed on Friday, Sept. 19 to residents within a 300-foot radius of the proposed location at 1982 Obispo Ave. and nearby property owners, the Conservation Corps has requested that, “all work on the project be suspended indefinitely.”
The letter adds that the City has “suspended all work on the project, technical studies will not be completed and a second Planning Commission workshop will not be scheduled.” The letter does not indicate why the project has been suspended.
Reached by phone last Friday, Mike Bassett, executive director of the Conservation Corps of Long Beach, told the Signal Tribune that the organization’s board of directors would likely discuss whether to move forward with the Signal Hill location or “go in any other direction” at its upcoming meeting in October.
He said the Conservation Corps has not entirely abandoned its pursuit of the Signal Hill location yet despite concerns brought by some residents.
Bassett said he decided to put the project on hold after the Planning Commission required a “bigger,” “more expensive” study on parking and traffic impacts in addition to a second public workshop during the ongoing process for obtaining a conditional-use permit (CUP) and zoning-ordinance amendment to operate at the site.
He said the permit process, which started with an inquiry about fire sprinklers, has become overcomplicated and turned into something more than initially envisioned. Bassett added that the Conservation Corps has to pay for staff time and mailing out notices to call for public hearings while it’s still uncertain whether the project would be able to move forward.
He said added costs would have to come out of the Conservation Corps of Long Beach’s budget, taking away money that would otherwise go toward school resources.
Bassett said costs for studies on potential traffic and parking impacts have risen after residents pushed the Planning Commission to require that city staff take into account potential impacts from the Long Beach Unified School District’s (LBUSD) proposed Browning High School that still has yet to be built about a half block away.
Additionally, out of concerns brought by residents, city staff is looking into police reports regarding the organization’s existing facilities, including the Conservation Corps of Long Beach Environmental Education Center in Signal Hill, requiring more costs to pay for city staff time.
“It started out as one thing and morphed into other things,” Bassett said. “I didn’t want the meter running, so I decided to slow things down a little bit.”
Bassett added that he “disagrees” with assertions that the charter-school proposal should take into account potential impacts from LBUSD’s new “thematic” high school, which, according to school officials, would have an enrollment of about 850 students once completed in 2016.
The proposed charter school is set to have an enrollment of about 175 students, however, Bassett points out that students at the charter school are taking classes voluntarily unlike students required to attend LBUSD’s new high school.
“We feel we should be separate from the concerns of Browning,” Bassett said.
For more than a year, the Conservation Corps has proposed to occupy space in the two-story office building at Obispo Avenue and Grant Street to open a second charter high school offered to adults age 18 to 25 who are seeking high-school diplomas and workforce training after dropping out of traditional high school.
The second school, according to Conservation Corps officials, would allow the State-funded, nonprofit organization to become more self-sustaining by boosting enrollment.
The City, however, is requiring that the Conservation Corps obtain a CUP and a zoning-ordinance amendment since the site is currently zoned for light industrial. The requests would require approvals from both the Planning Commission and City Council.
Vice Mayor Larry Forester, who is a member of the Conservation Corps of Long Beach’s board of directors, said he has recused himself from all votes regarding the project and will continue to do so, whether on the Council or the Conservation Corps board.
A Planning Commission workshop on Sept. 9, however, drew a large crowd of more than 80 people while a community meeting a few weeks prior drew the same number of attendees. A majority of people who spoke during the workshop voiced concerns about the project while only one resident spoke in favor of it.
Some residents said the proposed charter school might decrease property values and bring crime and graffiti to the neighborhood. Other residents suggested that the adult students be called “at risk.” One Signal Hill resident, Peter Navarro, compared the proposed charter school to a “check-into-cash and a pawn shop.”
In addition, some residents expressed worries that the school would have a “cumulative” impact on traffic and parking in the area given the potential impacts from Browning High School. However, some residents admitted that it might be difficult for city staff to study the issue since potential impacts from Browning High School have yet to be realized and studies would primarily be based on estimates.
Bassett, however, said residents in opposition to the plans have “misrepresented” the Conservation Corps charter school and its students, adding that residents have been circulating “huge pieces of misinformation” that he said have been “outright slanderous.”
He said the Conservation Corps has had a more-than-20-year relationship with the City of Signal Hill. Members have even helped remove graffiti in the city and assisted in improving trails in Hilltop Park as part of workforce training, he said, adding that a Conservation Corps member works as an intern for the City’s public works department.
With regard to parking, Bassett said the 62 parking spaces at the proposed Signal Hill location would be more than adequate for students and staff since 95 percent of the students would be using public transportation.
He said the Conservation Corps of Long Beach’s current charter school at 3635 Atlantic Ave. in Long Beach is able to operate with less than half that amount of parking available even though the school has the same number of staff and students that would be at the new charter school.
Bassett said he doesn’t know of any Conservation Corps throughout the state that has had to go through such a rigorous permit process, adding that the charter school in Long Beach was approved without any concerns from residents in the area. Basset said the Conservation Corps has continued to look at other options but there aren’t many spaces available with the same amenities as the Signal Hill location.
In a phone interview, Scott Charney, Signal Hill’s director of community development, said it’s the City’s responsibility to respond to neighbors’ concerns, adding that he doesn’t know of “any city project that generated that much participation.”
If the Conservation Corps decides to pursue a location in Signal Hill, at this point, the applicant would have to start the permit process over again, requiring another public workshop and public notice, he said.
“If they decide to continue at this site or any other site in Signal Hill, we would start the process from the beginning,” Charney said.
