Lauderhill commission gives Eagles Nest Charter two-year extension, orders plan for relocation

The Lauderhill City Commission on Monday approved a renewal of a special-exception land use allowing Eagles Nest Community Charter School to remain at 3698 Northwest 15th Street, but shortened the period of authorization and required a concrete relocation plan.

The commission voted 5-0 to amend the staff draft and set the special-exception expiration to July 1, 2027, giving the school roughly two more years to identify, fund and move to a site the city considers more compatible with its industrial zoning. Commissioners debated the tradeoffs between keeping a neighborhood school in place and the city’s long-standing plan to reserve that industrial corridor for manufacturing and warehousing.

The decision follows nearly three hours of testimony from parents, teachers and school leaders who said the Lauderhill campus serves largely local students and that school safety protocols and bus operations have kept incidents low. “This property has been exclusively a school since 1997,” attorney Keith Poliakoff told the commission, noting Eagles Nest’s neighborhood ties and community programs. Christine Mentis, the school’s executive director, described efforts to improve academic performance and said the facility currently serves about 300 students and operates four buses for out‑of‑area routes.

City planning staff opposed the renewal, saying the parcel sits inside the city’s only designated light‑industrial area and that continued school operations create a long‑term compatibility problem for the city’s redevelopment goals. Staff and the city manager noted the area was the subject of public planning and an amortization process dating back to the 2000s that identified industrial uses as the intended future for the corridor.

The commission and staff said they are not disputing the quality of instruction or the school’s role in the neighborhood, but said land‑use policy must be applied consistently. Interim City Manager Kenny Hobbs told the commission staff had previously recommended denial and that the commission had twice granted five‑year renewals in the past; the two‑year expiration approved Monday replaced a five‑year date that had been in the draft resolution.

During the discussion the city and school representatives described prior meetings where the city had offered to assist the school in finding alternate sites. The school said those searches had not located available, appropriately sized properties within Lauderhill and that building out a new school would carry multi‑year costs in the “hundreds of thousands” to millions of dollars. School leaders asked for time to assemble funds and notify families; commissioners said they were willing to give a finite extension but not an indefinite grandfathering.

The commission attached conditions and asked staff and the school to present a written transition plan before the new expiration date; the plan should document search efforts, options considered, and a timeline for relocation if one is identified. The commission made clear it retained discretion to consider further extensions only if demonstrable, near‑complete progress had been made toward moving the school.

Mayor Denise Grant and Vice Mayor Ray Martin joined Commissioners Campbell, Dunn and Hodgson in the 5-0 vote. The resolution as approved sets a new expiration date of July 1, 2027, and requires the school and city staff to report on relocation efforts in advance of that date.

The school and city staff said they would continue working together to identify viable properties and to minimize disruption to students and employees if relocation becomes necessary.