City urged to fight school hub
A group of Novato residents is urging the city to seek a court injunction to halt construction of a school maintenance facility in a developing neighborhood in Hamilton.
The crux of the complaint is that the Novato Unified School District project located at 971 C St. did not undergo review through the city’s permitting process. The project, which is already months into construction, includes a onestory, 9,600-square-foot grounds maintenance and operations building and 30,300-square-foot parking lot.
A Change.org petition calling for the injunction was signed by 87 people and was submitted to the City Council.
“By requiring the NUSD to follow standard city processes it allow the public to participate in local government and influence development in their neighborhoods,” Hamilton resident Tracey Ruiz, who also signed the petition, wrote in an email to the council.
Resident Joan Goode said for the city not to take action would set a “serious and dangerous precedent for future construction” projects.
“This is not the way to treat residents who have time and again voted in bond measures to support the schools,” Goode told the council.
School district officials say because the facility is on a parcel owned by the district and is a master planned educational facility, it is exempt from local rules though not from state or federal zoning.
City staff previously voiced disagreement with the district, stating that it is the city’s view that this exemption only applies to classroom facilities. No action by the city has been taken to attempt to stop the project, at least so far.
City Manager Adam McGill said his staff and council are aware of the project and the residents’ petition.
“City and NUSD staff are engaged on this issue with ongoing conversations occurring,” McGill wrote in an emailed statement. “The city takes its role in community development and planning seriously. We desire
all projects within the city limits to involve the community input, to the extent possible be aesthetically pleasing, and contribute positively to the city. We’re hopeful, those aspirations can be met on this project.”
In an email on Friday, the school district assistant superintendent Yancy Hawkins said that the district
is unaware of any legal challenge to the project.
Responding to the residents’ concerns, Hawkins wrote, “We have listened and responded to all concerns raised by residents and done what we could to address them.”
“As we have throughout this project, we continue to work closely with the City of Novato and the community
on improvements we can reasonably make to this project that has been in the works since 2006 and that has been discussed in community forums along the way,” Hawkins wrote.
Reached Thursday, Mayor Eric Lucan said he can’t comment on whether the city has been considering filing such an injunction.