2 HIGH SCHOOL SITES CHOSEN NO HOUSES TO BE RAZED.

Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer

Rather than seize homes to make way for two new local high schools, Los Angeles Unified officials said Monday they will build one alongside the West Valley Occupational Center in Woodland Hills and the other at the Granada Hills Hospital site, properties the district already owns.

The hospital is already vacant, and school district leaders said they will not have to shut down or relocate their occupational center on Winnetka Avenue and Victory Boulevard - the oldest campus of its type in California.

``Both the hospital and the West Valley sites have their detractors, but when we weigh all the factors, we essentially come down on the side of not taking homes,'' said Glenn Gritzner, special assistant to the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent.

While homeowners in Winnetka were pleased school officials are no longer considering using eminent-domain powers to buy their properties, there were concerns about increased traffic at the Winnetka Avenue and Victory Boulevard intersection, where the occupational center is located and where the new busway crosses both streets.

``We're worried about the traffic, but nobody wants to stir that pot. It's the lesser of two evils,'' said Winnetka resident Alan Schwartz, whose home was under consideration for one of the alternative sites.

School officials say the new Woodland Hills campus will be a vocational academy offering courses for 500 to 1,200 students in such fields as cosmetology, health care and auto mechanics - similar to what's already offered at the center. In addition to learning a trade, students will complete work for their high school diplomas.

Opened in 1965, the occupational center each year serves some 15,500 adults and teenagers from as far away as Lancaster, Moorpark and Newbury Park. Students upgrade their career skills, learn English or earn their high school-equivalency certificates.

School officials said they will address the traffic and parking concerns that come with adding more students to the 20-acre site. The intersection is already near capacity, officials said.

``The plan is not to interrupt what is already going on there. The plan is to supplement it,'' said Ed Burke, chief of staff for board member Jon Lauritzen.

LAUSD leaders sped up the site-selection process for both schools after Reseda and Granada Hills residents, who were notified that their homes might be taken, flooded the district with complaints. But the neighborhoods were always under consideration only as a back-up plan, Lauritzen said.

``I felt really bad because people were really put in turmoil for a period of time,'' Lauritzen said. ``You hate to put people in a position like that when it's unwarranted.''

The board is expected to give its approval this month for schools at the Granada Hills Hospital and West Valley Occupational Center sites. Planning and construction on both sites will take three or four years.

Some Granada Hills community leaders had hoped that another health-care provider would take over the hospital, but none did, so the LAUSD bought the property earlier this year. District officials expect to use portions of the hospital structure.

At the occupational center, the biggest concerns are traffic and the possibility two or three years of construction work could disturb current classes. Administrators also fear the center program may eventually be displaced.

``We are very nervous about that part of it - that our adult program isn't disrupted,'' West Valley Occupational Center Principal Maureen Jensen said. ``The students are concerned, and the staff ... are concerned that our programs would be pushed out and that the high school would overrun us.''

Planning has yet to begin, but the high school could be built on six vacant acres on the site, said Ed Van Ginkel, the district's senior development manager.

``There's land available on the site that wouldn't displace any of those buildings,'' he said. ``It's still an open issue whether we need to redevelop the site. We have to decide on the best configuration for the students.''

Valley transportation officials haven't yet assessed the proposed school project, but said a traffic study would be needed.

The Winnetka Avenue-Victory Boulevard intersection is already busy - likely providing middling to poor service - and new high school students would add to the morning rush-hour traffic.

But transportation officials said the new Metro Orange Line busway, due to open next year, would help relieve the crunch, and the school district could widen the streets to add another lane for cars.

``There will be more traffic,'' said Sergio Valdez, a city Department of Transportation engineer. ``You'll have some mass transit close by, so people won't have to drive in all the time. I'm sure this'll help.''

Burke, calling it impossible to avoid traffic woes in the San Fernando Valley, agreed that the bus line should help.

``Traffic in the Valley is always a problem, but this is probably one of the better locations,'' Burke said. ``That area is fairly well served by public transportation.''

Daily News Staff Writer Lisa Mascaro contributed ot this story.

Jennifer Radcliffe, [phone]

jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 maps

Photo:

(1) Luke Theule of Winnetka works on his computer skills Monday at the West Valley Occupational Center in Woodland Hills, where a new high school will share the adult-program's campus.

(2) no caption (WEST VALLEY OCCUPATIONAL CENTER)

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Map:

(1) West Valley Occupational Center

(2) Granada Hills Hospital