Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves Mercy Christian Academy special-use permit after removing student- and classroom-cap limits
Summary
The City Council approved Mercy Christian Academy’s special-use permit to convert a closed church into a K–8 school and removed MPC limits that had capped enrollment at 50 students and classrooms at five.
The Shreveport City Council voted to modify a Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) recommendation and approve a special-use permit and site plan for Mercy Christian Academy’s proposed educational facility at the former Shreve City Baptist Church.
At the MPC hearing the staff recommended approval with five stipulations. The applicant appealed stipulations that had limited the school to 50 students and to five classrooms and sought removal of those limits; the council considered testimony from the school’s representatives, MPC staff and the city attorney before voting.
Michael Kelsch of Raley and Associates, the engineer for the project, told the council that the MPC originally voted to approve without stipulations but then reconsidered and added five conditions after the public hearing. Kelsch said the applicant agreed to stipulations about traffic management and bicycle parking but objected to caps on students and classrooms because the building renovation represented a multi‑million dollar donor investment and the applicant planned for up to 200 students at full build-out.
Founder Jessica Elston described Mercy Christian Academy as a donor‑funded, K–8 program that has grown from 10 to 38 students over three years and expects about 52 students next year. She said more than 90 percent of students receive scholarships and the school plans to cap enrollment at 200 at full build-out.
MPC staff said their stipulations were intended to protect nearby residents from queuing and circulation problems. MPC staff emphasized they were not opposed to the school but wanted a process to ensure the site would handle additional traffic without locking neighbors into their driveways. MPC staff said the traffic engineer had asked for measures to manage circulation and that stipulation 1 required a change in the site plan if traffic backs up into the neighborhood.
The council adopted a motion to affirm the MPC decision while removing stipulations 3, 4 and 5 (the student cap, classroom cap and a requirement that a floor plan be administratively approved). The motion carried unanimously, 7–0. Council members and the mayor praised the school’s mission; several members urged the school to proactively work with neighbors and the police department to plan carpool and pick‑up procedures before the school year begins.
Action taken: council modified the MPC recommendation and approved the special-use permit without stipulations limiting student numbers or classroom count; stipulation 1 (traffic back-up triggers site-plan changes) remains in place and the council asked the applicant to coordinate with law enforcement and neighbors on circulation and queuing plans before opening.
