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Residents urge Murrieta Valley Unified to drop Ivy and Hayes school site over fire, flood and cost concerns
Summary
At a packed board meeting, dozens of west-side residents urged the Murrieta Valley Unified School District to abandon plans for a school site at Ivy and Hayes, citing wildfire and flooding risks, limited road access and steep infrastructure costs; no purchase vote occurred tonight.
Dozens of residents packed the Murrieta Valley Unified School District board meeting to urge trustees to abandon a proposed school site at the corner of Ivy and Hayes, saying the parcel is unsafe, would impose heavy infrastructure costs on the city and is inappropriate for a K–8 campus.
“Corner of Ivy and Hayes is not the appropriate site to expand this school into,” said Julie mcale, a nearby resident, who noted photos and a petition she said was signed by about 250 residents opposing the location. Speakers described repeated instances of flooding, nearby wildfire history and a narrow, two‑lane road that they said would gridlock in an emergency.
Dr. Lisa DeForest, who identified herself as the city’s Third District councilwoman, told the board her review indicated the city would likely need to spend at least $10 million on basic improvements if a school were located there. “This area drains over 1,000 acres,” she said, urging district–city collaboration on alternatives.
Other residents—former first responders, longtime homeowners and real-estate professionals—raised similar objections: emergency-response access would be constrained by limited approaches and bridge capacity; seasonal riverbed flooding could expose children to hazards; and nearby land uses (including equestrian properties and a cemetery mentioned by several speakers) make the site unsuitable for a school campus.
Several speakers also questioned the district’s timing and transparency around site selection. “It doesn’t feel honest to us,” said Samuel lockart, urging the board to involve the public earlier in closed‑session deliberations and to consider alternative parcels offered by community members.
Board members and staff did not take a final vote on the Ivy and Hayes parcel during the meeting. In remarks later in the evening, trustees and the superintendent reiterated that the district is pursuing multiple facilities and financing actions elsewhere—among them a separate motion to finance the acquisition of a local church property for family services and preschool expansions that the board approved—but they did not finalize purchase or construction plans for Ivy and Hayes at tonight’s session.
What happens next: several speakers and one commenter said a site-selection hearing is scheduled in November; the board will be the forum for any formal land‑purchase or bond‑funding votes. The board did not adopt a motion tonight to buy or develop the Ivy and Hayes parcel.
