DISTRICT, DEVELOPER NEAR SCHOOLS DEAL.

Byline: Amy Collins Daily News Staff Writer

The Hart high school district and The Newhall Land and Farming Company are nearing an agreement over how much the developer will pay to build schools to absorb residents of the Decoro Highlands project, county and company officials said Friday.

``We've had some very positive discussions with them on Decoro Highlands,'' said Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer.

Officials from the William S. Hart Union High School District were unavailable for comment Friday.

Newhall Land and the school district continue to negotiate a larger agreement that would encompass all of the company's development in the Valley - including Newhall Ranch, Westridge and North Valencia.

The proposed agreement would allow those negotiations to continue without preventing Newhall Land from moving ahead with the 458-unit Decoro housing project, located directly northeast of Valencia High School.

If a broad agreement is reached before Decoro is built, it would apply to the project. ``If we don't reach an agreement before the building permit process starts, then the county has a condition that we have to fully mitigate to state standards,'' Lauffer said.

Full mitigation would still fall short on certain amenities, such as an aquatics center, that the school district has been seeking, Lauffer said.

In an interview earlier in the week, Hart Superintendent Robert Lee said the district is continuing to negotiate a better deal for students.

``State standards is a minimum,'' he said. ``It is not our desire, nor of this community, to do the minimum.''

Decoro Highlands, which faced a number of questions June 9 from members of the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission, will return for further review June 30.