The Lawrence school board isn’t paving the way for a housing development north of Free State High School.

The board on Monday dismissed Peridian Group Vice President Mike Keeney’s “win-win” plan for a land swap that would permit construction of a street to serve the proposed development. Without the district’s cooperation in reaching the landlocked site, he can’t move ahead on the project.

Board Vice President Leni Salkind said the land exchange would be “a really bad business deal for the district.”

She said trading 1.215 acres of undeveloped land at Wakarusa and Overland drives for 1.3 acres necessary for the road would leave the district with property it couldn’t use. Also, a special tax assessment of $67,000 is attached to the property the district would receive.

“We don’t need it,” she said. “We don’t have resources to entertain anything on that land.”

Keeney, who represents Penna Cae Investors on the development project, said rejection of his proposal violated “good neighbor” ideals. It prevents developers from constructing 42 single-family homes that would be within walking distance of the high school. It also keeps those houses off the tax rolls, he said.

“You want to work with your neighbor and do something that is a reasonable win-win,” Keeney said.

He said the district was missing a chance to block construction of an office complex that is planned for the 1.215 acres he offered to trade to the district. The building would be next to Free State’s baseball diamond.

“An office development on that lot is sort of a sore thumb,” he said.

Investors seek piece of land at Free State High School (12-7-03) More about development at 6th and Wakarusa

He said the 1.3 acres he wants along the high school’s north property line is worthless “except to me.” The path of the street would cross deep ravines that make the property “nearly undevelopable” for anything other than a road, he said.

The board was unmoved, and didn’t even muster the required four votes Monday night to accept open bids for the land sought by Keeney.

Members Sue Morgan, Austin Turney, Cindy Yulich and Salkind voted to keep the land in district hands.

Their three peers, Leonard Ortiz, Rich Minder and Linda Robinson, expressed an interest in selling the land, if the price were right.

“I just don’t see saying no for the sake of saying no,” Ortiz said. “What do we gain by holding onto it?”

Turney, the board president, said that if the strip were sold he would expect the district to receive “substantially more” than the appraised value.

The board rejected offers earlier this year from Peridian Group to buy the land outright. Keeney said efforts to secure access to the housing development site from other directions had failed.