The Sunnyvale Sun

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Decisions for the Peterson Field remain up in the air

By JASON GOLDMAN-HALL

The Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Education received a roaring round of applause when members told a packed crowd they'd like to see the surplus land at Peterson Middle School turned into either a youth sports complex or a school-run farm or garden.

However, if those options don't work out, board member Andrew Ratermann said there is still the possibility the 48-acre parcel--which the district has been struggling with for almost two years--would be offered to private developers.

The options, discussed at the board's May 11 meeting, were three of four, the fourth being "do nothing."

Each option and its effect on the financially struggling school district was discussed at the meeting, and each appealed to a different part of the district's goals.

The most controversial is option two, selling the land. The district potentially needs only 40 acres to turn the middle school into a high school. That leaves at least 8 acres as surplus.

The land would first have to be offered to the city of Sunnyvale, but city leaders have already said they do not have the funds to buy the property. It would then go through other local agencies, state agencies and nonprofit agencies, before finally being offered to any interested party, including private developers, who could turn the land into single family homes.

"The reality of it is that if you go the surplus route, you're going to get housing built on the land, if not condominiums, because if it comes to bidding, it's going to go to whoever can pay you the most money," said Ian Prickett. Prickett served on the district's Peterson Field Advisory Committee.

Santa Clara Unified Business Administrator Roger Barnes said each acre sold could be worth between $2.5 million and $3 million. That money could only be used for capital improvement projects, including the renovation and maintenance of any land the district keeps, or could be invested.

If invested, Barnes said it could generate more than $1 million annually for the district.

But because of strong community opposition to selling the land, board member Rod Adams said the group is inclined to try to partner with youth sports leagues such as Sunnyvale Alliance Soccer to create a three-field facility, or work to turn it into farmland that could generate revenue through the sale of produce.