Huntington Beach City School District

Maintenance & Operations Building - Approval Update

We are excited to share a significant milestone with our community. Earlier this month, the Huntington Beach City Council approved the Conditional Use Permit for the District's Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Building on a 4-2-1 vote, with Council Members Andrew Gruel and Chad Williams as the dissenting votes.

This decision marks the completion of the planning entitlement process, the result of a multi-year effort and an extensive public review that included Design Review Board consideration, Zoning Administrator approval, and Planning Commission approval before reaching the City Council.

This has been a long road, and we are grateful to everyone in our community who spoke up and advocated for our students, staff, and schools. Your voices made a difference.

With entitlement now secured, the project moves forward into final design and Building Department approval, bringing us closer to the day our M&O team has a permanent, proper location to do the critical work that supports every one of our campuses.

For more information on the project, visit the Maintenance & Operations Building Project webpage. The District remains committed to working with our community on this project and will continue to provide updates as they become available.

Maintenance & Operations Building Project - Important Message to Our Community

Your Voice Matters

The Huntington Beach City Council has scheduled the M&O Building appeal for:

Tuesday, May 5, 2025, 6:00 PM | City Council Chambers | 2000 Main Street, Huntington Beach

City Council Member Andrew Gruel has appealed a project that was reviewed and approved by the City's Zoning Administrator and Planning Commission. We need our community to show up and send a message: our students deserve properly maintained schools, and our team deserves a safe, permanent place to store the tools and materials required to make that happen. Every continued delay drains resources meant for our students' education.

You can take action in one or both of the following ways:

Option 1 — Attend the City Council Meeting

Your presence matters. Join us on May 5 at 6:00 PM at City Council Chambers, 2000 Main Street. If you wish to speak, you will have the opportunity to provide public comment in support of the project.

Option 2 — Email the City Council

You can send an email asking the full City Council to uphold the Planning Commission's 6–1 approval at City.Council@surfcity-hb.org.

This project has been reviewed, studied, and approved twice, yet the delays in approval continue to cost our community money that should go toward students.

Misconceptions vs. Facts

MISCONCEPTION	FACT
✗ This will bring constant noise, traffic, and industrial activity to a quiet neighborhood.	✓ The M&O team already operates from this site, currently outdoors in a parking lot. Moving indoors will reduce noise.
✗ The District didn't explore other locations.	✓ The District spent more than five years working with the City of Huntington Beach, OCTA, neighboring school districts, local realtors, and private landowners to find an alternative site.
✗ This hasn't gone through proper review.	✓ This project has completed CEQA review, been approved at every level of City review, by the Zoning Administrator, and approved 6–1 by the Planning Commission. It meets all applicable City requirements.
✗ The building will be a large, industrial eyesore.	✓ The building is a 7,500 sq. ft. structure built to City standards with design review-approved materials. It includes enhanced features such as sound insulation, a block wall to separate it from neighboring properties, and landscaping to soften its appearance.
✗ The school district shouldn't be building here at all.	✓ The District Office has operated here for years. This purpose-built support facility is designed to help maintain safe schools for 4,500+ students.
✗ The area is not zoned for an industrial building	✓ The building fits the existing zoning for this property without requiring any changes, which is why it has been reviewed, studied, and approved twice.

What This Building Actually Is

The M&O building will mainly function as a storage facility and office. It will house the tools, supplies, and materials our team needs to maintain our schools, and provide space for staff to coordinate, plan, and complete administrative work before heading out to our campuses, where the work happens. Much like when you hire a contractor at your house, the work is primarily completed at our schools. We cannot mow the grass, replace light fixtures, or change carpet in a building.

Our M&O team is the backbone of everything that takes place on our campuses. During the school day, they keep classrooms safe and functional, handling HVAC, grounds, plumbing, and electrical needs. Beyond the school day, they maintain fields and facilities for local community organizations, support evening and weekend events, and enable our schools to serve the broader Huntington Beach community. This building simply gives them a proper home base to do all of that more efficiently.

For more information on the project, visit the Maintenance & Operations Building Project webpage. The District remains committed to working with our community on this project and will continue to provide updates as they become available

Maintenance & Operations Building Project Approved

On March 10, 2026, the Huntington Beach Planning Commission approved the Huntington Beach City School District’s proposed Maintenance & Operations (M&O) Building at the District Office site with a 6–1 vote.

The facility will provide a permanent location for the tools, materials, and supplies used to maintain District campuses. Moving these activities indoors will allow our maintenance team to work more efficiently while supporting safe, functional, and well-maintained schools for the approximately 4,500 students we serve.

The building will also provide a dedicated space for equipment storage, maintenance work, and operational coordination that currently occurs outdoors.

We appreciate the Planning Commission’s time and consideration of this project and thank community members who participated in the review process.

For more information, please visit the Maintenance & Operations Building Project webpage.

The District remains committed to working with our community and will continue to share updates as the project moves forward.

Maintenance & Operations Building Project Update

The Huntington Beach Planning Commission has agendized the Huntington Beach City School District’s Maintenance & Operations Building project for review at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, March 10, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 2000 Main Street.

Huntington Beach Planning Commission Agenda

For project information, please visit the Maintenance & Operations Building Project webpage.

The District remains committed to working with our community on this project and will continue to provide updates as they become available.

M&O Building Rendering

The Huntington Beach City School District plans to build the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Building on the Kettler site behind the District office. The District has been working with the City and other landowners in Huntington Beach for more than three years to determine a location for M&O building, which was previously located at Dwyer Middle School. The building was in disrepair, and its location conflicted with the optimum location of the Dwyer Gymnasium and STEM buildings. After an exhaustive review, the District Office site was the only viable option with the District's limited resources.

The District's M&O team is responsible for conducting regular inspections and preventive maintenance of facilities, maintaining the grounds (including lawns and planters), ensuring safe and secure facilities for students, and providing support for school operations, events, and activities. The new M&O building will offer an interior space for M&O-related work currently occurring in the parking lot, house equipment and supplies related to school site maintenance and operations, provide a space for M&O staff to collaborate and complete office work, and serve as a centralized warehouse to keep basic supplies used in instruction and custodial services. The new building is expected to mitigate noise levels as M&O activities currently occur outdoors in the parking lot. This facility does not have a mechanic's bay or fueling stations typically found in a maintenance yard. Since our operation is small, we contract with the high school district for fuel and use outside services for vehicle repairs.

The new M&O building will be built using local building standards in lieu of Field Act compliance, which is required for facilities attended by students and teaching staff. The M&O facility will not host students, allowing the District to choose the agency overseeing its construction. As a custodian of public funds, the District believed the City's process to be quicker, more cost-effective, and better for community involvement. However, if local procedures result in cost or time issues, the District can still opt to follow the DSA process.

This project shows our commitment to providing cost-effective maintenance and operations services for our school community. Important information and dates will be added to this webpage as they become available. Dates are subject to change.

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Quick Links

Maintenance and Operations Building Project ListServe – HBCSD has established an email listserv that allows recipients to stay connected to District updates regarding the M&O Facility Project.
Maintenance and Operations Building Project Question Form – Visit the following link to submit a Maintenance and Operations Building Project question

Presentations & Documents

Contact Us

HBCSD Facilities
facilities@hbcsd.us

City of Huntington Beach Project Planner
permitcenter@surfcity-hb.org