Architectural review committee approves recommendation for King’s Schools expansion, including indoor gym that requires height variance

Dawn Camps, associate planner for Cathedral City, presented the architecture and landscaping for a proposed renovation and expansion of King’s Schools on a 5.26-acre site on the south side of Bolero Road. The Architectural Review Committee voted to approve the item and will forward its recommendation to the Planning Commission.

Camps told the committee the current campus contains about 26,600 square feet of buildings and that the proposal would revise a previously approved conditional use permit (CUP 93199) to allow a campus buildout of approximately 52,048 square feet. “Staff recommends that the architectural review committee review the architecture and landscaping associated with the proposed CUP revision and recommend the project for Planning Commission approval,” Camps said.

The project would be built in two phases. Phase 1 would demolish roughly 3,000 square feet of portable buildings and add about 9,000 square feet of new construction plus a covered parking area and paving of an existing private lane. Phase 2 would remove the remaining portables and construct a roughly 27,000-square-foot building that would include six classrooms, administrative and operations space, and an approximately 16,000-square-foot multipurpose room/gymnasium.

Because the multipurpose building’s height would exceed the Resort Residential (RR) district maximum by 1 foot, 7 inches, the applicant is requesting an administrative variance; Camps said that variance, the CUP revision and the zoning ordinance amendment to add schools as a conditionally permitted use in the RR district are subject to Planning Commission review and City Council action.

Site details presented to the committee include 28 existing visitor spaces at the northwest corner of the site, an unpaved private lane used for staff parking, and existing turf recreation areas to remain. The staff presentation noted 36,000 square feet of new construction across both phases, with existing permanent structures of about 15,900 square feet retained and approximately 10,700 square feet of existing portables proposed for demolition. Camps said the final landscape plan will be reviewed by the Desert Water Agency to ensure water-efficiency compliance; the project is designed to meet the city’s 50% parking-lot shade requirement, with about 25 stalls (roughly 4,000 square feet) covered by a shade structure and trees providing shade for about 7,000 square feet.

Don Dallaire, founding headmaster of King’s Schools and the applicant’s on-site representative, described the school’s history and the need for indoor athletic and performing-arts space. “We are a small school, 300 kids, and we have operated for 32 years without a indoor gym,” Dallaire said, adding the expansion will not increase student capacity but will provide space for athletics and performing arts.

Committee members asked about drop-off logistics, fire access and building visibility. Camps said the northwest area along Bolero Road is the primary student drop-off, and that the Fire Marshal had reviewed the private lane and found it sufficient for apparatus access. Committee members also discussed architectural detailing and color variation; staff and the applicant said the project continues the existing campus architectural style with varied color palettes per phase.

The committee voted on a motion to approve the architecture and landscaping and forward a recommendation to the Planning Commission. The motion was made by committee member King, seconded by committee member Kiefer, and carried on a roll call. Committee member King verbally recorded an “aye,” and the clerk announced, “motion carries all ayes.”

The Planning Commission will consider the administrative variance and the CUP/zoning ordinance amendment; if approved there, the zoning amendment will proceed to City Council for final action.