CRITICS CONDEMN WINDSOR SCHOOL PLAN:QUAKE FAULT, TRAFFIC MAKE ELEMENTARY CAMPUS UNWORKABLE, NEIGHBORS SAY

Earthquakes and traffic gridlock were the nightmare scenarios raised Thursday night by about 60 residents of northeast Windsor who showed up at a school board meeting to object to plans for a proposed school near an active geologic fault.

"That school would be in the worst area of Windsor seismically," said Frank Dutto, a resident of Vancouver Lane. "It would have the worst amount of shaking."

Ron Young, whose home abuts the school site, said the nearby Rodgers Creek fault "has the highest probability of the next earthquake of any Bay Area fault. It has one of the highest levels for liquefaction."

The school is proposed on 12 acres east of Hembree Lane, between Vinecrest Road and Jensen Lane. Even though the site is within 1,500 feet of the Rodgers Creek earthquake fault, geological consultants downplay the danger, stating that "fault rupture hazard impact is considered less than significant." And they said more thorough geologic studies would occur prior to construction.

But residents also worried about school-related traffic choking their neighborhood.

"How will we be able to get an ambulance to our parents in need, when there is no way to get through that traffic?" said Jill Cooper, whose elderly father lives near the school site.

Opponents say the school essentially would be at the end of a dead end street. There are long-term plans to build streets connecting Jensen Lane to Pleasant Avenue to alleviate school traffic, but critics said there is no money for the road construction.

Young, the neighbor to the school site, also admitted more prosaic concerns. He is worried about the impact to his property values with the noise and other issues a school will bring.

"Everybody's property values are already down. This is another hit," he said.

The proposed elementary school would have a capacity of 700 students, although initially the district anticipates 565 students would attend.

District officials said the new school is needed to alleviate crowding and create more permanent space for a growing student population.

Currently 60 percent of students are housed in portable classrooms.

As far as traffic, the environmental study concedes the extra vehicles would significantly affect the Hembree Lane and Vinecrest Road intersection and increase long-term noise.

But it suggests creating narrower travel lanes on Hembree and reducing the width of the bike lanes, or as an alternative, installing a traffic signal.

Jensen Lane School would be a "grade cluster" school, for all second-graders and third-graders in Windsor to attend.

The current cluster school is Windsor Creek Elementary, on the other side of the city, off Conde Lane near the Town Green Village.

But school officials want to relocate those students to Jensen Lane and use Windsor Creek for a variety of programs.

Windsor Creek would serve as the site for many of the pupils who are now in portable classrooms. It would be converted to a site for programs including special education for students with developmental disabilities; a physical therapy center; the alternative education Windsor Oaks Academy; a technology center; and an independent charter school.

School officials have estimated the cost of the Jensen Lane school at $28 million. Half of the cost would be covered by school district bonds approved by voters in 2008 and the rest by state matching funds.

The Windsor Unified School Board is expected to certify the final environmental document in late summer.

Residents will get another chance to comment on the school project at a Town Council meeting on May 4. Although the Town of Windsor technically does not have a direct role in approving the project, it can address the environmental impacts and public concerns.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com