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Neighbor group urges denial of Tessellation School high‑school expansion at Drake North site
Summary
A neighborhood representative told the Planning Commission residents oppose Tessellation School’s revised conditional use permit to add grades 10–12 and expand enrollment from 300 to 425, citing current traffic and parking problems and urging the city to require a shuttle plan and traffic study before approving expansion.
A resident representing 29 households told the Cupertino Planning Commission on June 24 that neighbors oppose Tessellation School’s application to expand the conditional use permit for the former Drake North Elementary site to include grades 10–12 and increase enrollment.
"Tessellation is applying now for a revised conditional use permit that would allow it to grow to 425 students," the resident, Gil Doyle, said during oral communications. Doyle said the school was previously permitted only through grade 9 and allowed a maximum of 300 students, and he said the school told city officials it planned to keep staffing at or below 85 despite the proposed enrollment increase. "When Tessellation opened in 2023, it had 141 students. Today it has 268 students and plans to grow to 425," he said.
Doyle asked the city to require a traffic study and to encourage the school’s proposal to use an off-site shuttle drop-off (he cited New Life Church as a possible shuttle station), saying current morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up already produce congestion and parking pressure in the neighborhood. "Before the city considers allowing the school to expand, residents around the school would like to see the city and school address existing traffic and parking problems," he said.
Context: Doyle said Tessellation’s December 2023 conditional use permit allowed operation through ninth grade with an explicit plan to move ninth grade to another campus in fall 2025; the revised application now seeks to add grades 10–12 and the larger enrollment. No formal Planning Commission action on Tessellation’s application was reported during the meeting; the remarks were made during the public comment portion of the meeting and were entered into the public record.
Ending: Doyle urged commissioners to withhold approval until the city reviews a traffic study and evaluates a shuttle/drop-off plan to limit curbside congestion and additional neighborhood parking.
