Rincon Valley district advances plan for new school on former swim club site

The Rincon Valley school district has advanced its disputed plan to purchase a former swim club as a future elementary school site, approving an environmental study Tuesday for a project that many nearby residents oppose.

Board members unanimously voted to award the contract to a Berkeley firm to conduct the expanded study, which will look at up to three alternatives, including a “no project” option required by the state.

The study, which will cost $92,455, will allow for more public feedback, board trustees said.

“We do want your input,” board trustee Mike Cook said to a crowd of about 30. He urged residents to submit their email addresses and telephone numbers to the district to be notified for future meetings regarding the proposed new school and environmental study.

The study will take about four months to complete. Half the time will be dedicated to a revised traffic study.

A draft report is expected to be released in early July, followed by a 45-day comment period and final report in October.

LSA Associates, the Berkeley firm, previously put together an initial study, which cost the district $101,670. It found the design of the new elementary school would result in a “less than significant” impact on traffic, a finding some residents disputed.

According to the district, the new school, on the grounds of the former Oak Park Swim Club, would accommodate about 450 students and include 26 classrooms, daycare, library and music room.

It would replace the aging Whited School just two miles away on Highway 12.

Some residents welcomed the expanded environmental impact report. Many others opposed it, saying a new school isn’t necessary.

“I’m not opposed to the school. It will be an asset to the community,” said Art Palmer, who lives off Baird Road, near the former swim club. However, he urged the district to review the potential impacts further.

Lisa Brown, a Rincon Valley resident and mother of two, called the project and environmental study a waste of tax dollars.

“There is no need for a new school to replace Whited,” she said before Tuesday’s meeting at the district’s office on Yulupa Avenue.

On March 1, board members were scheduled to approve a pending $3 million purchase of the former swim club at 1105 Baird Road for a future school. Objections from neighbors prompted them to abruptly table the discussion.

About 70 residents attended that special meeting in the gymnasium at Village Elementary School. They complained about traffic congestion, particularly in the mornings, in a neighborhood with four existing schools.

One man said he counted 600 vehicles on Baird Road between 7 and 8 a.m. that day.

Residents argued building another school would increase traffic hazards on Badger Road.

Rincon Valley Christian School, Brush Creek Preschool, Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School and Rincon Valley Middle School, which is part of Santa Rosa City Schools, are all located in the neighborhood.

In addition to traffic impacts, residents also argued the district had not given sufficient public notice on the project.

In May, it signed an agreement to buy the shuttered swim club, launching an acquisition process expected to take a year.

The district has described the new school as a “long-term venture.” It noted that there was no money for construction and that the 15-acre site would “likely remain vacant for many years.”

District officials said the swim club is an ideal site because it’s large enough to accommodate an elementary school.

They said in a document earlier this month that it would be “nearly impossible to find contiguous lots of this acreage in a location suitable for a school” if the district did not purchase the land.

“I’m well aware of the traffic issues. No one wants to make that worse,” trustee Jeff Gospe said, adding that the district has seen its enrollment increase over the years.

Currently, there are 3,500 students in the district. In 2010-11, there were about 3,300.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that we can offer public education to students who live in Rincon Valley,” Gospe said after the meeting.

Longtime Rincon Valley resident Karen Sanders urged the district to abandon the project.

She said the culverts in the area fill up each time it rains heavily.

“We have significant stormwater runoff,’ she said.

Chaney Delaire, who lives within walking distance from the site, said she, too, is concerned of potential flooding in the future. “Once you start paving, you are eliminating natural drainage,” she said on Tuesday.

She’s also worries about potential traffic increase and other impacts in the neighborhood.

“There are other issues that are not environmental,” she said, adding, “There’s quality of life for the neighborhood. It’s not going to come up in an environmental review.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 707-521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.