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A lawsuit filed by the city of Costa Mesa claiming a $32-million theater planned for Estancia High School did not undergo proper environmental review will move forward, despite attempts by Newport-Mesa Unified officials to have the case thrown out.
In a Jan. 15 legal complaint, Costa Mesa City Atty. Kimberly Hall Barlow said school board members supported building a 46,000-square-foot performing arts complex with a 350-seat theater, black box theater and lobby at the Costa Mesa campus in October 2019.
More than one year later, with plans already submitted to the State Architect’s office, trustees determined in a Dec. 9, 2020 meeting the two-year construction project would be exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act a move the city has challenged.
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With coronavirus cases subsiding and students poised to return to campuses for full-day instruction later this month, Newport-Mesa Unified officials are left to decide the future of remote-learning models many families had come to rely on during the pandemic.
Consequently, a cohort of students who for months have been livestreaming in-person classes at their home schools from the safety of their living rooms may have to reconsider their options come fall.
School board members in a special meeting last week decided they would continue a 100% virtual Cloud Campus for TK-12 students into the 2021-22 school year. The move, they reasoned, provides an online option for families hesitant to join the rush back to brick-and-mortar classrooms.
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The Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s plan to construct a $32-million performing arts complex at Estancia High School is being challenged by the city of Costa Mesa in a lawsuit that alleges the project has not undergone adequate environmental review.
In a petition for writ of mandate filed in Orange County Superior Court this year, Costa Mesa City Atty. Kimberly Barlow said Newport-Mesa trustees approved the project in October 2019 and submitted plans to the state architect in November without holding adequate and timely public hearings.
The city “and the public will suffer irreparable harm by respondents’ failure to take the required steps to protect the environment and follow mandatory environmental review in compliance with the law,” the document states.