Permit delays may set the project back.
The William S. Hart School District is crossing their fingers. They’re hoping that SunCal, the developer responsible for preparing the site for the new Castaic High School, can get through the Los Angeles County Planning stage without significant delays.
“We're ready to go,” said District Spokeswoman Pat Willett. “Now it’s its up to SunCal and the County.”
Delays could be caused if the permits get held up in the Planning stage with the county. The first meeting between SunCal and the County went on today, but no decision was expected to be made. Today is just a day to give the information to the Planning Commission.
Hopefully, SunCal’s response will get back to the Commission in May, Willett says, and that could be when they vote. Of course, if any additional changes need to be made, that would set the project back.
“We need 18 months to two years to build,” said Willett. “so we want to have the pad by March.”
Presuming all goes well, the District would get the land by March, and that would allow them to build the school, move in, and start classes by fall of 2010 like they had planned.
A few months delay could still make the deadline possible, but anything longer than that would not make it likely.
Willett said that the District wants to make sure residents in Castaic, who feel that a High School in their area is already long overdue, know that this delay is not caused by the District. “We’ve been accused of dragging our feet, but this is between the County and SunCal.”