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Staff: deed timing and lack of road access could delay acquisition of proposed school site
Summary
At the May 12 Facilities Committee meeting, staff said the developer must deed the proposed school site to the county before issuing its first certificate of occupancy, but that road access to the site is likely two years away. Staff outlined the OSF land-acquisition process and warned that the timeline could complicate spending referendum funds.
During the May 12 Facilities Committee meeting, district staff discussed a proposed future school site and warned that deed timing and lack of road access could delay the district’s ability to use the property.
Robin, a district staff member, reviewed the development agreement language and said, “the developer is to deed the land over to the county, before their very first certificate of occupancy.” She said that once the land is deeded it would need to be rezoned to public land before the district could accept it.
Staff told the committee that although model homes might be built, the proposed roadway from Orange Bird Road to the site — shown on the presentation with a red star where the road currently ends — likely will not be built for about two years. Tony, district staff working on land issues, told the committee he was told by an engineer that the road to the public-use land is “probably about 2 years away from getting that road in.”
Facilities staff explained the district’s OSF land-acquisition process: a district submits property information into the OSF portal, then the site evaluation occurs with OSF and DOT; if approved, staff begin due diligence (geotechnical, topographic and archaeological surveys and other items OSF requires). Staff said the OSF approval, due diligence and local procurement/construction sequence typically takes about three years from start of district planning to construction, while the OSF portal/site-evaluation portion can take roughly six to eight months from submission to final approval.
Taken together, staff said the two-year wait for road construction plus approximately three years for district due diligence and construction could push any usable access or construction well beyond the five-year window the referendum expects for spending. Staff advised that the district has not yet entered the parcel into the OSF portal because the land is currently inaccessible, and that they hope the land will be deeded to the county by the time access becomes available.
Staff discussed alternative future sites the district is evaluating, including a 50-acre parcel along Delmar Highway and Bridal Wood (which staff said the district already owns and which is about 20 acres), and asked for board guidance on planning priorities.
