The City of Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Commission on July 17 voted to forward staff review comments on the Access International Academy Site Plan Advisory Review (SPAR 250002) to the school’s board of directors and recommended the board give special attention over time to pedestrian, human‑powered and motor vehicle traffic issues related to student drop‑off and pickup. The motion directs staff to provide the review comments in the staff report with a request for a response from the school’s board.

Access International Academy proposes to relocate to 3939 Automation Way in the Collendale Business Park by renovating an existing office/industrial building rather than building new structures. Jenny Whitaker, Access’s head of school and cofounder, said the school currently serves roughly 300 students and about 50 staff and that the move is intended to provide a stable, long‑term campus. "This move is about our long term investment and stability," Whitaker said. "3939 Automation Way is the only site we found that meets all of those criteria." She described the school as offering dual‑language immersion (English plus French, Spanish or Mandarin), and said about 40 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch, 46 percent identify as students of color and 17.6 percent are English language learners.

City staff and applicants identified traffic at morning drop‑off and afternoon pickup as the primary operational issue for review. Staff told the commission that SPAR review incorporates state statutes that require charter school siting to be generally consistent with community plans and that the Land Use Code implements those statutes under the SPAR process. Staff also explained that the site is in the mixed employment place type on the City Plan structure map; mixed employment lists vocational and private schools among principal land uses, and staff found the charter school use supportable in that context.

Traffic operations for the site were discussed in detail. Access presented a driveline plan the applicants said has worked at their prior campuses: their official drop‑off window is 7:45–7:55 a.m., and a before‑care program brings many students earlier, which the school said staggers arrivals and reduces peak vehicle volumes. The applicants said they are coordinating with a neighboring operator, Triple Crown Sports, on scheduling and are open to shared‑use parking agreements and to accelerating a longer‑term plan for an additional parking area on the northeast portion of the property if needed; such a modification would require a separate site‑plan amendment.

City traffic staff told the commission that the SPAR scope typically addresses site circulation and adjacent arterials but that the submitted traffic memo did not analyze more distant intersections; commissioners asked for additional attention to the intersections of Caribou & Timberline and Automation Way & Horsetooth because those crossings carry bicycle and pedestrian traffic and could be affected by concentrated drop‑off activity. The commission’s additional comment asks staff and the school’s board to evaluate and monitor impacts over time and to implement remedies as appropriate for safety and efficiency.

Staff noted the legal structure of SPAR: the commission provides comments to the school’s governing board; if the commission were unsatisfied with the board’s response, the state board that oversees charter authorization has further jurisdiction. The commission’s motion finds that the proposed location, character and extent are consistent with City Plan and that the proposed plan mitigates functional and visual impacts to the extent reasonably feasible.

The commission’s recommendation and comments will be forwarded to Access International Academy’s board of directors with a request for a response. The commission also recorded that the SPAR, as presented, is limited to interior remodeling and the circulation plan in front of the commission; any future landscape changes, additional parking or a site loop would require a further review process.