Manassas council hears public hearing on Pennington Traditional School addition; enrollment cap set in conditions

The Manassas City Council held a public hearing on an application by Prince William County Schools to expand Pennington Traditional School at 9305 Stonewall Road, presenting a two‑story, 32,000‑square‑foot addition, new parking and on‑site stacking, and a limit on student enrollment.

City planner Audra introduced the special use permit and described the property and proposed work, saying the parcel is about 15 acres and that staff and the Planning Commission recommend approval with conditions. "Condition 1 will limit the use to the educational facility with a maximum enrollment of 672 students," Audra told the council.

The project team said the addition is meant to provide dedicated instruction and support spaces rather than to materially expand enrollment. Luke Fetcho, senior project manager with Timmins Group representing Prince William Schools, said the district corrected an earlier application error and that the plan increases physical capacity by 20 students only. "This application does increase the capacity of the school by 20 students," Fetcho said, and emphasized the district’s intent not to change its lottery‑based admission process.

Architect Amy Olinik said the addition would provide music and arts classrooms, science lab space, a larger administrative suite and accessibility improvements, and reduce the current practice of converting general classrooms for multiple uses. "There is a lot of doubling and tripling up," Olinik said. "The administrative offices are incredibly cramped." The plan includes a new main entrance, natural light features and an elevator to meet accessibility requirements.

Staff and the applicant said site circulation and parking were revised after an earlier remand. The current design would add 54 parking spaces for a total of 112 on site (staff said the site requires 70 by the applicable standard) and extend on‑site queueing capacity to allow up to 144 vehicles to stack on site during peak pick‑up and drop‑off operations. The applicant also proposed right‑of‑way dedication along Stonewall and Moseby for future improvements and new landscaping buffers along adjacent residential properties.

Parents, teachers and school staff spoke in support. Parent and former parent‑advisory‑chair Kara Berger described the school's active parent body and said the additions would provide music, science and other instruction that currently requires moving furniture and instruments. "My oldest child was really into science, but did not have access to science labs to do experiments," Berger said. David Anderson, assistant principal, said the school serves about 652 students and that roughly 425 live in Manassas zip codes. Anderson described cramped staff and support spaces and said the renovation would provide band, orchestra, art and special education rooms and more restroom facilities. "Let me be clear, there are no plans to expand enrollment," Anderson said.

A nearby resident, Richard Lee, said on‑street parking on Stonewall at the corner of Park Drive is hazardous when parents park on both sides and asked whether no‑parking signs or other measures would be added. Vice Mayor Mark Wolf asked staff to confirm the enrollment limit; staff replied that the enrollment cap of 672 is included among the proposed conditions.

The council voted to close the public hearing and schedule formal action on the special use permit at the next regular meeting. Planning staff listed conditions of approval that include removal of an existing modular classroom after the addition receives a certificate of occupancy; a requirement that pick‑up and drop‑off occur on site and that an SUP amendment would be required if the layout no longer supports capacity; a requirement that Prince William County Schools enter a memorandum of understanding allowing public access to outdoor fields outside school hours; dedication of right‑of‑way along Stonewall and Moseby; notification to adjoining owners prior to construction; and a maximum enrollment of 672 students.

If the council approves the permit at the scheduled vote, the conditions would be part of the approval and would govern on‑site operations and future changes.