JSerra High School To Open Fall, 2003

The following Article was sent for immediate release to the local newspapers on October 16, 2002.

Zoning vote assures funding and community benefits; avoids special election San Juan Capistrano, California.

The San Juan City Council approved yesterday [October 15, 2002] a voter initiative sponsored by backers of JSerra Catholic High School to rezone the Sycamore Commons Office Complex and 29 acres of adjacent land to allow a private high school at Junipero Serra Road between the interstate 5 freeway and Camino Capistrano.

Council member David Swerdlin reported to the Council that a City negotiating team led by Swerdlin, Council member John Gelff, City Manager George Scarborough, and City Attorney, Omar Sandoval, negotiated a potpourri of community benefits from high school organizers over the past 30 days, including funding of up to $400,000 per year based on an annual $200 ‘fee per student,’ the so-called ‘head tax,’ a reduction to 2,000 students from the 3,000 maximum stated in the initiative, community use of athletic facilities and cooperation on traffic mitigation. Construction of the school’s new facilities will go through the City planning and commission processes.

Rezoning also ensures the land will be used primarily for athletic facilities, and the massive commercial development that had been considered at the site will not be built. The contract was reduced to an agreement that was accepted by the Council prior to the Council acting to approve the rezoning.

“We are delighted with this outcome,” said Steve Hammond, JSerra’s principal. According to Hammond, “This allows both the City and the High School to proceed with certainty, and will relieve concerns of the many families who want to confirm plans for next Fall.”

Under State law, the Council was required to either approve the zoning initiative, or set the item for a January, 2003 special election. By approving the initiative, the City secures funding and benefits it would not otherwise obtain if the matter went to vote, and avoids another divisive land use measure. The prestigious California Conservatory of the Arts, which is open to all students on an audition basis, whether enrolled at JSerra or not, has already started after-noon instruction at the facility this Fall, and is moving forward with over 65 committed students of the fine arts. It will remain in residence at JSerra High School, and be an important beneficiary of the new High School’s support.

JSerra backers have also been meeting with members of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians and are working to mitigate their concerns. “We have been aware of the cultural significance of the site, and have been working closely with David Belardes regarding an appropriate way to acknowledge and memorialize the historical village of Putiiudem,” said Wayne Peterson, spokesman for JSerra.

“The JSerra group has been very sensitive to our desire to protect and preserve this sacred site,” said David Belardes, Most Likely Descendent. “I am happy to see that most of the City Council did not waiver in their decision to move the process forward despite personal attacks. Numerous plans in the last twenty years have been proposed. This plan is the least intrusive of all the plans — it’s a win-win for all. You cannot honor JSerra without honoring the Natives of California, in this particular case the Acjachemen.”

“We are grateful for the City’s leadership and the community will ultimately be as well. This will be a first class facility, and a credit to San Juan,” said high school organizer Marc Spizzirri. ‘We said all along that we are committed to a better San Juan, and were serious about our proposed financial contribu-tion and the community benefits. This agreement cements those benefits for the city,” he added.