COURT BID TO HALT SCHOOL PROJECT FAILS CREEK-SIDE CONSTRUCTION WILL CONTINUE.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Two environmental groups lost another round in their fight to get a court order to block construction related to the long-delayed and much-needed Rio Norte Junior High School.

Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle rejected the groups' pleas for a temporary restraining order to block construction of a construction road across the environmentally sensitive San Francisquito Creek.

``It would appear that this ruling would remove the last impediment to construction of the school,'' said Marlee Lauffer, a spokeswoman for The Newhall Land and Farming Company, which is building the school and road as part of the 2,500-home WestCreek project. ``They tried again, and lost again. It has been a busy week for the lawyers.''

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Lourdes G. Baird denied a request from Friends of the Santa Clara River and the Center for Biological Diversity to halt development in the creek, home to several endangered species, including the southwestern arroyo toad.

Work on the school began two weeks ago, and Newhall Land contends that hauling dirt from the site to acreage across the creek is the quickest way to prepare the land for construction.

Representatives for the environmentalists vowed to push forward with their lawsuit, which is scheduled to be heard by Anderle on Oct. 31.

The groups sought the restraining order against the construction road so Newhall Land couldn't develop the land while the lawsuit was pending. The groups also are fighting a plan to build a bridge to extend Decoro Drive across the creek bed to Rio Norte and nearby Valencia High School.

Environmentalists say there isn't enough water to serve the planned homes and that construction would destroy wetlands that are home to the arroyo toad and other endangered species.