Ceiba College Preparatory Academy will remain at its location at 215 Locust Street, and Pajaro Valley High School will not need to make room for Renaissance High School students, who will not be displaced by Ceiba.
All of that was made possible when the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday—and the Watsonville City Council on Tuesday—approved a proposal to waive zoning restrictions for Ceiba.
The school has been situated in an industrial-zoned region of Watsonville for about 13 years.
After the votes, that zoning restriction no longer applies to the school, which can stay at the site through July 2044.
The placement of the school at its Locust Street location has never sat well with some neighbors, who say it adds traffic and is generally dangerous for students as they walk to and from school.
The City Council in 2023 granted the school a general plan amendment, zone change and special use permit to allow the school to keep its location.
That move sparked a lawsuit against Ceiba and the city by WESTIA (Watsonville Environmental Safety Traffic Industrial Alliance) and neighbor Marta Bulaich, stating that the city erred when it allowed the zoning change.
The lawsuit also alleges violations of the California Environmental Quality Act, Watsonville Municipal Code and the Brown Act, among other things.
A trial is set for May 21, but City Manager Tamara Vides told The Pajaronian Wednesday that the agreements between the City, PVUSD and Ceiba render her lawsuit moot.
Buliach did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In past interviews, however, she told The Pajaronian that neighbors must contend daily with traffic woes and bad behavior by Ceiba students walking to and from school.
She asked the elected leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday to reject the proposal.
“Considering this appalling history of how Ceiba was situated in an incompatible use in the industrial zone, I request that the City Council not approve the zoning exemption agreement,” she said on both nights. “Ceiba should be situated in a compatible campus location that conforms to uniform standards for a children’s school.”
How did we get here?
California Governmental Code section 53094 allows school districts to render zoning ordinance inapplicable to schools within their boundaries.
After Buliach’s lawsuit was filed, Ceiba submitted a demand for space under Proposition 39, a state law that requires school districts to provide adequate space for charter schools in their boundaries.
PVUSD in turn tentatively offered the Renaissance High School campus, which would have meant the school’s existing students would have been moved to PVHS.
None of the schools involved in this story wanted to participate in their part of that plan, and for the past few board meetings students and staff have been imploring the trustees not to approve it.
For its part in the agreement, Ceiba has agreed to drop its Proposition 39 request, and cannot further develop the school.
Bryce Chastain, who served as outside counsel to PVUSD for the zoning exemption, said the “in lieu of Prop 39 agreement” is a fairly typical move used by school districts in similar situations.
“This is essentially the quintessential win-win,” he said.
Who voted yes?
The PVUSD Board of Trustees, passed the proposal unanimously.
The zoning exemption was in the consent portion of the City Council agenda, and passed 4-2, with Casey Clark and Ari Parker dissenting and Vanessa Quiroz-Carter absent.
It drew little comment, despite the hundreds of supporters who packed the City Council chambers, most of them Ceiba students, teachers and parents.
“We want to stay at our location,” said science teacher Athena Raney outside the meeting. “What’s wonderful about Watsonville is that they have a diverse school where our families can choose an education that fits our students.”
Imelda Hernandez, who has one child who graduated from Ceiba four years ago and one preparing to do so now, said that she was worried about transportation issues if the school moved to the Renaissance High campus.
“Our kids walk to school,” she said. “They’re local.”
