Yorba Linda sells portion of property once designated for Friends Christian High School to developer for high-end homes on Bastanchury

A portion of the property once designated for a $53 million Friends Christian High School that was expected to enroll some 1,200 students from mostly North Orange County cities is being sold to a developer with plans for high-end residential development for the land.

The 23 homes proposed for a 12.64-acre site on the north side of Bastanchury Road between Casa Loma and Eureka avenues will be expensive, since the price the developer is paying for each lot is $921,000, a total close to $21.2 million, less some still-to-be-determined costs.

A sales agreement and joint escrow instructions with Pacific Cascade Group for the city-owned property was approved recently by the Yorba Linda City Council. A due diligence period ends Oct. 13, with escrow expected to close Nov. 12.

The city plans to apply the sale proceeds to an already-approved Arts Center to be built in conjunction with a new library on the east side of Lakeview Avenue near the Lemon Drive intersection that's expected to open by summer 2020.

The city is selling the property in “finished lot” condition, meaning rough grading, streets and public infrastructure will be completed. Estimates of the to-be-determined “finished lot” costs range to $200,000 per lot, to be deducted from the purchase price.

“The sale of the property in a finished lot condition increases the potential sale value of the property by eliminating the risk of unknown costs incurred by the purchaser...,” as stated in a report prepared by project manager Colleen Callahan.

A city-hired consultant “received tremendous interest from potential purchasers,” Callahan reported. Pacific Cascade Group was chosen partly due to the company building “the type and quality of upscale homes that the city is accustomed to in residential estate-zoned areas.”

Callahan also noted: “As in any real estate transaction, a final closing hinges on continued negotiations during the due diligence and escrow periods,” but the city and developer have agreed to “work cooperatively” to finalize the sale “to facilitate the ultimate development....”

The once-hearlded Christian high school was a dream of many residents and several past city officials for a 10-year period beginning in 2003, when the city leased 32 acres on Bastanchury Road to the school on a 4-1 council vote.

The 32 acres included the 12.64 acres now being sold and another 19 acres to the north, which are restricted for use for “public purposes.”

During the 10 years of the lease, the sponsoring organizations, Yorba Linda Friends Church and Rose Drive Friends Church, raised and spent $14 million on the site, $3 million in lease payments and $9 million for entitlements and improvements.

But eventually, due to what church representatives at the time said were “onerous lease terms,” $39 million in bank loans could not be obtained to fund construction, and the city ended the lease in 2012 after several missed payments.

Placentia-Linda Hospital celebrates 46th birthday with new $10 million operating room, procedures

Placentia-Linda Hospital is celebrating its 46^th birthday this month with a new $10 million operating room that will expand the types of procedures performed at the 114-bed facility founded by 19 local physicians in 1972.

Now, cardiovascular, vascular and interventional radiology procedures are added to the list of operations done at the hospital, utilizing the new operating room, which officially opens today, Sept. 20, with an open-to-the-public event with light food and refreshments at 3:30-4:45 p.m.

“Placentia-Linda Hospital’s multi-million dollar investment shows our commitment to growing within the Orange County community and serving the people in our neighborhood,” noted a statement from Christina Oh, the hospital's chief executive officer since October 2016.

“With the opening of this new service, patients will be able to stay in the hospital for critical procedures and access state-of-the-art outpatient procedures close to home,” Oh stated.

She added, “Close proximity means a better experience for patients and a reduced cost burden for the healthcare community at large. By offering these new...procedures, we are striving to live our mission of quality healthcare with a personal touch.”

Last year, the hospital paid nearly $800,000 in property and sales taxes, funded $40 million in wages and benefits and provided more than $700,000 in charity care, according to a hospital-compiled report. The facility has 541 employees, 300 affiliated doctors and 70 volunteers.

Other new and expanding enterprises:

--Anytime Fitness will operate 24 hours daily in a 5,400-square-foot space at the Yorba Canyon Shopping Center that formally housed a restaurant, based on a conditional use permit granted by the Yorba Linda Planning Commission.

The new business near Yorba Linda Boulevard and New River Road was approved on a 4-1 vote, with one of the City Council-appointed commissioners opposed to a 24-hour operation.

--St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School will add 2,855 square-feet to its 4,700 square-foot kindergarten building under a design review granted on a 5-0 planning commission vote.

Changes at the 5330 Eastside Circle campus will include playground modifications and a new covered outdoor lunch area.

--”A number of unique characteristics” regarding property the city is selling for $3.5 million to In-N-Out Burger, now occupied by the library along with an adjacent vacant lot, “may require time, coordination and negotiations” to resolve, according to a recent city report.

Issues involve title to part of the property still in the name of the former Yorba Linda Library District that merged with the city in 1985 and right-of-way and vacated easements listed as encumbrances on some of the property.

The land isn't scheduled for transfer to In-N-Out before August 2020 and construction of the eatery won't begin until the library moves to its new Lakeview Avenue-Lemon Drive location.

Some candidates don't take advantage of the most cost-effective method of reaching voters in upcoming election by submitting statements

Surprisingly, several challengers campaigning to oust incumbents from school trustee and water director positions on the Nov. 6 election ballot didn't take advantage of the most cost-effective method of reaching voters with statements about their platforms and qualifications.

Under a state law enacted in the 1970s, county Registrars of Voters must allow candidates to purchase space in the information guides they mail to all registered voters, along with sample ballots, before an election.

These candidate-written statements cost pennies compared to the expensive flyers that fill residential mailboxes each election cycle, and they are most often read as voters are mark-ing sample ballots for use at precincts or when their mail-in ballots arrive.

Most serious contenders pay the fees involved to have their statements printed and mailed with election materials because they are well aware that candidates who don't submit state-ments stand little chance of winning, based on some 40 years of experience with the law.

For example, all three Yorba Linda City Council candidates seeking two seats available this year paid the $885 deposit required to have 200-word statements mailed to each registered voter. That's a bit more than two cents per voter versus a substantially higher cost for flyers.

Of course, the law comes with restrictions, including prohibiting mention of an opponent, including comments on their qualifications, character and activities. And, obviously, they can't use those grainy, black-and-white, smirking photographs of an opponent.

Maybe that's why the glossy, colorful flyers are so popular with candidates and the many “independent expenditure” committees that pay for them. A Registrar of Voters handbook has 13 pages that outline regulations governing the county-mailed statements.

In the Yorba Linda Water District, only the three incumbents, Phil Hawkins, Brooke Jones and Al Nederhood, paid for statements, $951 for 200 words or $1,585 for 400 words. Challengers Robert Kiley and his wife, Barbara, didn't purchase statements.

Brett Barbre, Yorba Linda Water District assistant general manager, paid $2,022 for a 200-word statement in a race for a sixth term representing six north county cities at the county Municipal Water District. His opponent, Brea attorney Greg Diamond, didn't make the buy.

And Yorba Linda resident Jeff Brown paid $1,092 for a statement to be mailed to voters in Area 6 of the North Orange County Community College District that includes a tiny part of Yorba Linda south of Yorba Linda Boulevard west of Van Buren Avenue.

His opponent Pao Ling Guo, adult school principal in the ABC Unified School District, didn't buy a statement. Trustees Barbara Dunsheath and Steve Blount didn't draw opponents, so they'll be appointed to new terms.

Mailings of the county and a separate state election guide begin Sept. 27, with the process completed by Oct. 16.

More records set by Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate students in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District

More records were set by Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate students who took the hours-long examinations earlier this year at high schools in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.

Scores earned by students maintain a years-long district tradition of giving more tests to more students, with a higher percentage of students earning passing scores at most school sites.

Students earning passing or better scores on the AP and IB examinations can earn university-level credits and often bypass introductory courses, although colleges and universities make their own decisions on credit and placement options for students.

This year, 4,088 AP tests were administered district-wide during a two-week period in May, up from 4,070 last year and 3,890 the year before. Passing is considered to be a score of “3” or better on a five-point scale.

Here's how the individual high schools fared, based on a district-compiled comparison chart, with numbers provided by each school:

At El Dorado, 861 tests were administered in 22 subjects, with the Hawk pass rate increasing to 79.42 percent from 76.3 percent last year and 75.67 percent the year before.

At Esperanza, 703 tests were administered in 21 subjects, with the Aztec pass rate increasing to 80.23 percent from 76.34 percent last year and 80.03 percent the year before.

At Valencia, 1,531 tests were administered in 29 subjects, with the Tiger pass rate increasing to 87.85 percent from 86.77 percent last year and 85.98 percent the year before.

At Yorba Linda, 993 tests were administered in 24 subjects, with the Mustang pass rate down a bit at 88.22 percent from 89.04 percent last year and up from 87.36 percent the year before.

Students are allowed to take AP tests beginning in the freshman year. For example, at Valencia, teacher Sam Myovich had 75 students take the Human Geography exam and 90.67 percent passed, with 26 students achieving the top score of “5” and 24 notching a “4.”

The most popular AP test was English Language and Composition, with 561 administered to mostly juniors, 107 at El Dorado, 114 at Esperanza, 219 at Valencia and 121 at Yorba Linda.

The International Baccalaureate program at Valencia High School also set another record, with 78 full diploma graduates, up from 76 last year and 64 and 41 the two previous years.

The school earned a pass rate of 90.2 percent, with 443 of 491 tests administered in 20 subjects earning a “4” or better on a seven-point scale.

Program coordinator Fred Jenkins said the campus expects up to 85 full diploma graduates in 2019. The school's diploma pass rate, based on students who successfully attempt and earn the full diploma, is 91 percent, far better than IB's global pass rate of 79.3 percent.

Qualified students are allowed to take IB classes even if they aren't seeking the full diploma.

Both AP and IB students completed reading, essay and other assignments over the summer.