Walnut School District to Evaluate 29-acre Parcel for Sale

Walnut Unified school district officials are looking to assess the value of a 29-acre parcel of land in South Diamond Bar in preparation its sale.

The board postponed hiring a market analyst for the property at Wednesday night's meeting as two members of the board were absent. The board will look to continue to move toward selling the property, according to Board President Cindy Ruiz.

In December, the city of Diamond Bar on the property that could host up to 200 patio homes and a new park.

The property, called "Site D", is an undeveloped parcel at the corner of Diamond Bar Boulevard and Brea Canyon Road.

District officials told the city council in December that they expect to receive around $10 million for the property.

School board President Cindy Ruiz said the district still needs to form a committee to confirm the property as surplus as well.

But the biggest hurdle for the sale was cleared with the city of Diamond Bar. Ruiz said that a previous attempt to sell the land was stymied by the city's desire to see a partly commercial development on the property, which would bring in sales tax revenue to the city.

Developers eyeing the property during the previous sale attempt wanted to build an all-residential project and Ruiz said the sale of the mixed-use site became difficult.

The city's revision of zoning on the property did not come easily, with the council initially split 3-2 against the all-residential zoning during the December vote.

After a speech by interim Superintendent Charles McCully, Councilman Jack Tanaka reversed his decision, swinging the Council to approval with supporting votes from Councilwoman Carol Herrera and Mayor Steve Tye.

The next meeting of the school board is scheduled for June 8 at 7 p.m. at the district offices at 880 S. Lemon Avenue.

More on this topic:

• Council to Vote on All-Residential Development Plan