Coalition for Reasonable Use of My Back Yard (RUMBY)
The Notice of Preparation (NOP) is below with information on how to participate and submit your input on the scope and content of the draft EIR. Project scoping/content comments can include: potential environmental impacts of the proposed project; technical issues to address in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR); policy issues; potential mitigation measures; appropriate range of alternatives to evaluate in the EIR.
All project scoping comments must be submitted by February 6, 2017.
District stakeholders and taxpayers recently learned that senior partners of the Monarch Group were fined and disciplined by the California Gambling Control Commission for not disclosing investment information. In addition, the Commission denied their application for stake in a City of San Jose card room for providing “untrue and misleading information” earlier this year.
Read the Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune story
The school District has decided to move the start of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process to January 2017.
The EIR process will begin with a public scoping meeting. If a project is of statewide, regional, or area wide significance, the lead agency must provide notice of and hold at least one scoping meeting. The scoping meeting is designed to solicit public and agency comments regarding issues the EIR should consider.
Requests keep coming in for the yard signs and the Voice of Scripps Ranch (VOSR) mailing list keeps growing. If you would like to get a yard sign and/or get added to the email list to receive updates, send a request to voiceofscrippsranch@gmail.com.
Your Neighborhood Matters
The District announced the redevelopment plan of school property to the community back in December 2015 and said – “the project is a done deal.”
The VOSR was created and is promoting “NO Closing Schools for Apartments” to emphasize the importance of school property FOR KIDS not developers and the overriding goal of Kids and Neighborhoods 1st!
The school District needs to spend up to $50 million taxpayer dollars in Prop S & Z “Capital Improvement” bond money for buying property and building a new school to relocate the Scripps Ranch established Innovations Academy charter school. What started as a redevelopment plan – to make the District money – has become a plan that displaces students; tears down a neighborhood school, is funded by taxpayers; will cost more than gained; and takes Prop S & Z bond funds away from critical school infrastructure and renovation projects promised to voters in the bond measure.
The community is still waiting to participate in the District environmental review process, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) laws, to provide our issues for inclusion in an environmental impact report (EIR).
Look for a Notice of Preparation (NOP) from the District (Nov or Dec 2016?) that begins the 30 day period for public input and comments.
If you missed our September 13th SRCA presentation, the PP slideshow is available to view online at: https://youtu.be/f-lwghvuiXQ
Voice of Scripps Ranch (VOSR) is a coalition of San Diego area residents for the reasonable use of San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) property at the Innovations Academy site located at the corner of Scripps Poway Parkway and Spring Canyon Road.
SDUSD’s current proposal for the site is for a joint-occupancy development project with the Monarch Development Group that includes a 300,000 SF, 264-apartment complex; a 4,000 SF STEAM facility; 2,000 SF of commercial use; and a 1,500 SF community garden.
If you would like to get a yard sign and/or get added to the email list to receive updates, send a request to voiceofscrippsranch@gmail.com.
“When SR residents face an obstacle, they soar to new heights to resolve the issue”
Join us on Tuesday, September 13th
Voice of Scripps Ranch will be providing an update on information and activities at the Tuesday, September 13th SRCA meeting at 7:00 pm in the Scripps Ranch Library conference room. Come participate and learn about this school district project that evicts a local charter school for a 4 story apartment complex with questionable financial benefits and disruptive negative impacts to the surrounding neighborhood.
Where is the Environmental Review?
The community is still waiting to participate in the apartment project environmental review process, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) laws.
We expect to see a Notice of Preparation (NOP) announcement from the school district, to solicit input on the scope and content of the draft EIR for the proposed project.
Pursuant to CEQA guidelines, all comments regarding the scope and content of the environmental analysis must be submitted no later than 30 days after receipt of the NOP. Typically areas of EIR analysis are: Noise, Hazardous Material, Cultural Resources, Biological Resources, Lighting, Geo-technical, Traffic, Greenhouse Gas and Air Quality, Water Quality.
To learn what to expect from the school district EIR analysis, check out the SDUSD Environmental Reviews/Studies website.
Don’t Just Fly, Soar!
VOSR received an outpouring of support from the community – thank you for speaking up about this important issue! If you would like to get a yard sign, participate in VOSR activities and events, or be added to our all hands on deck email list, send a request to voiceofscrippsranch@gmail.com.
“When SR residents face an obstacle, they soar to new heights to resolve the issue”
In this week’s San Diego Reader (8/4/2016), the lead editorial cartoon is on the folly of using Prop. Z money for the Innovations Academy relocation.
Thank you Mr. Obermeyer! – you are “Spot On” about the San Diego Unified School District project that evicts a local charter school for a 4 story apartment project with questionable financial benefits for charter schools, taxpayers and children!
Consider sending a Letter to the Reader Editor, to thank Mr. Obermeyer for running the cartoon at: Letter to the Editor.
SDUSD approved the spending of $20,000,000 Prop Z bond funds, by vote of 4-1 (Beiser), to relocate the Innovations Academy charter school. This decision evicts the charter school to a dirt lot in a commercial business park on portable buildings, tears down the existing school, in order to build a 4 story apartment complex in its place with questionable financial gain to the district and big financial gain to a developer – and uses taxpayer money to do it!
Several Voice of Scripps Ranch coalition members attended the meeting to speak on agenda items H-15, the approval of the bond funding and agenda item, I-32, the approval of an additional $530,000 in bond funds to pay for environment impact reports for other tasks as assigned with the Scripps Mesa site.
NBC News San Diego Covered the Story:
Scripps Ranch Residents Upset Over Funding Plan for New Charter School
Here’s what Scripps Ranch voices are saying:
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SDUSD-July-26-Statement-2
SDUSD-July-26-Statement-3
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SDUSD-July-26-Statement-5
Look for Yard Signs in the Coming Months
NO Closing Schools for Apartments to emphasize the importance of school property FOR KIDS not developers and the overriding goal of Kids and Neighborhoods 1st!
On July 26th, the SDUSD board plans to vote to approve spending $20 million dollars of bond money for buying new property and building a new school for Innovations Academy.
Why are we spending taxpayer bond money when there is existing suitable school property and replaceable modular buildings?
Taxpayers will be burdened with the unnecessary debt!
Plan to attend and have your concerns heard.
The board meeting information is as follows:
What: SDUSD School Board Meeting
Date: 07/26/16
Time: 5:30pm meeting start – will post window of time when this action item will be heard
Location: Eugene Brucker Education Center Auditorium
Address: 4100 Normal Street
San Diego, CA 92103
www.sandiegounified.org/board-meeting-information
SDUSD has agreed to build and lease a NEW school site with Prop Z funds for the Innovations Academy Charter school.
This will make way to build 264 apartments on the school land that disrupts the surrounding neighborhoods and 99.9% of the Scripps Ranch community does not support.
Here is what the SDUSD website says about Prop Z fund usage:
In an effort to provide a quality school in every neighborhood, the district is using Prop. S and Prop. Z funds to repair, renovate and revitalize district schools. Bond projects include classroom technology, safety and security upgrades, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades, new/renovated facilities for College, Career and Technical Education, temporary classrooms replaced by permanent classrooms, air conditioning, ADA improvements to athletic facilities, turf fields, and other capital improvements at traditional and charter schools throughout the district. By law, capital improvement bond funds cannot be used for teacher or administrative salaries.
Here is the November 2012 voter guide statement on Prop Z:
San Diego Neighborhood Schools Classroom Safety and Repair Measure. To repair neighborhood schools and charter schools with funding the state cannot take away by: Repairing deteriorating 60-year-old classrooms, libraries, wiring, plumbing, bathrooms and leaky roofs; Removing hazardous mold, asbestos, and lead; Upgrading fire safety systems/doors; Upgrading classroom instructional technology, labs and vocational education classrooms; Shall San Diego Unified School District issue $2.8 billion in bonds at legal interest rates with citizen’s oversight, independent financial audits, no money for administrators’ salaries and all funds spent locally?
The school district four story apartment project plans to apply for a City of San Diego building permit, density bonuses and incentives but needs to separate the property with a ground lease to title portion of the property to Monarch to avoid, and thus circumvent, the Gun-Free School Zones Act.
According to the City, the property density is based on the area of the entire premises. A ground lease does not create a separate premise.
The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
The Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) prohibits any person from knowingly possessing a firearm that has moved in or otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.
The GFSZA also prohibits any person from knowingly, or with reckless disregard for the safety of another, discharging or attempting to discharge a firearm that has moved in or otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place the person knows is a school zone.
The GFSZA defines “school zone” as: 1) in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school; or 2) within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school.
