GEOLOGISTS TO CHECK SITE QUAKE FAULT MAY RUN THROUGH PROPOSED SCHOOL LOCATION.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - State education officials said Tuesday they will ask geological experts to check out what critics of the Golden Valley High School site say is a newly discovered fault line on the property.

State officials said a map that shows what could be an additional splinter of a known earthquake fault will be reviewed as part of its ongoing investigation into the site of the proposed $61 million campus.

``They appear to be a little bit different than what we have in our file,'' Jim Bush, assistant director of school facilities planning for the state Department of Education, said of new maps of the property.

``We don't consider it a red flag. We've got some additional information. We're going to check on it as part of our review process.''

Bob Lee, superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District, said the trace fault was found during grading this fall and was being investigated.

Lee said the splinter extended to the area where tennis courts and playfields, not buildings, are planned.

While school buildings cannot be built on faults, other aspects of the campus - such as parking lots - could be allowed, state officials said.

``During the grading, once they got below significant surface layers there was a small splinter that protruded into the property,'' Lee said. ``There was something there they had to take a look at.''

In a letter to the state Department of Education last week, attorney Jennifer Kilpatrick said her review of maps showed a new branch of a fault running through to the heart of the proposed school site.

Kilpatrick said she wanted to ensure planners were aware of the branch of the fault, and questioned where buildings were being planned.

``We're just wondering how it's situated and we wanted to bring it to their attention,'' said resident Cam Noltemeyer, an activist who has a lawsuit pending against the district over the site. ``We think this is another thing that has to be looked at.''

Bush said the map lines that appear to be a trace of the San Gabriel fault system were not found on the required geological hazard study of the site submitted by the district.

Bush said he had asked state geologists to study the maps.

``We just need to get those checked out,'' he said.

Lee said he had not received a copy of the letter sent by Kilpatrick to the state. He said the trace was found after initial studies were submitted to the state.

The proposed Golden Valley site has been debated for years, after concerns had been raised over building a high school on land in the heart of the city.

In May, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control signed off on the site, which is now being reviewed by the state Department of Education.

This fall, Noltemeyer filed suit, saying the project needed a supplemental environmental review.

The state is expected to make a decision on the property in coming months.

Duwayne Brooks, the Education Department's director of school facilities, said the new information would be reviewed as part of its ongoing investigation of the site.

``It's kind of like peeling layers back on the onion. . . . If there are problems, then we go a little deeper,'' Brooks said.

``Our key concern is the safety of the students and the staff,'' he said. ``There's no perfect site and you do, many, many times, have to figure out which ones is the best, given the appropriate mitigation that can take place.''

CAPTION(S):

map

Map: Proposed Golden Valley High