The Jefferson County Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve case 25-117973SA, allowing Jefferson Academy to convert an existing office building at 19316 Goddard Ranch Court in Morrison into Summit Academy South, a homeschool/charter hybrid program that will meet in-person multiple days per week. Reid Powers, the county case manager, told the commission staff recommended approval with conditions.

The commission’s approval requires the applicant to address outstanding public-health concerns about a shared septic system and to acquire or confirm an appropriate access permit from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). The commission’s motion added the CDOT access-permit confirmation as a condition.

Why it matters: The change reuses an existing building in a nonresidential business park and would bring classroom-based services for roughly 300 enrolled students without adding outdoor playgrounds or similar on-site uses. Commissioners said the reuse helps meet local demand for alternative education while raising traffic and wastewater questions that must be resolved before operations begin.

Staff review and conditions: Case manager Reid Powers said staff evaluated the application against five standard criteria — compatibility with existing uses, conformance with the comprehensive master plan (CMP), mitigation of negative impacts, availability of infrastructure and services, and effects on health, safety and welfare — and found four met or generally met. Powers said public-health reviewers raised concerns about the shared septic system and that staff’s recommendation included a condition addressing those comments.

Applicant presentation: Alicia Taussig, principal of Summit Academy South, described the program as a homeschool/charter hybrid that meets Tuesday and Thursday and provides concurrent enrollment and trade-program opportunities for part-time and full-time students. Taussig said the program typically produces fewer car trips than a traditional school because families arrive together and many students carpool. "We are a homeschool program, that meets Tuesday and Thursday, and we also are a full time school," Taussig said in testimony.

Traffic and access: Commissioner Kelly Dunn pressed the applicant and staff on traffic and CDOT access. Dunn requested a condition that CDOT take a close look at the site’s existing access permit and confirm whether it remains applicable or whether modification or a new permit is required. The commission added language requiring the applicant to "acquire the appropriate access permit or confirm that the existing access permit is applicable." The applicant said its traffic engineer would coordinate with CDOT.

Infrastructure and services: The site will be served by a shared well and the existing shared septic system; Powers noted wastewater questions remained unresolved and must be addressed as a condition of approval. The school and its design team said they have hired a wastewater consultant and plan to complete required work.

Outcome and next steps: Commissioner Messner moved approval based on the staff report and testimony; Commissioner Spencer seconded. The commission voted unanimously to approve the location-and-extent application with the conditions described above. Because this is a location-and-extent case (not a rezoning or special district), the final authority for this particular case rests with the Planning Commission.

Quotes: "Staff is recommending approval of case 25-117973 with the following condition, that the applicant shall work with public health and address all concerns related to the shared septic system," Reid Powers said during the presentation. "We have a professional traffic engineer on the project that wrote this report, and we can work with them to ... work with CDOT to make sure that all of your concerns are addressed," applicant representative Peter Ewers said in response to traffic questions.

Implementation notes: The applicant and staff must complete the public-health septic review and either confirm or obtain the appropriate CDOT access permit before the school can open. No outdoor playground or recess areas were proposed as part of the application, and the county’s land-use designation for the area remains nonresidential in the CMP.