Planning Commission approves SLO Classical Academy campus at 3450 Broad Street with transportation and tree-replacement conditions
3778628 · June 12, 2025
Summary
The commission approved a PD amendment, conditional-use permit, moderate development review and tree-removal application to establish a consolidated SLO Classical Academy campus at 3450 Broad Street, subject to conditions including a year-long monitoring plan for drop-off/pick-up operations and 45 replacement trees for 20 removals.
The San Luis Obispo Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a multi-application project to relocate and consolidate San Luis Obispo Classical Academy (SLOCA) into a campus at 3450 Broad Street.
Staff presented the proposal as a package of four applications: a moderate development review, a planned-development (PD) amendment to permit the school use on a site previously approved for large-office use, a conditional-use permit (required for school/daycare uses in the CS zone), and a tree-removal application. Associate Planner Hannah Hahn told commissioners the project would allow infant care through grade programs consolidated from three existing SLOCA locations and would include interior tenant improvements and an interior 4,300-square-foot mezzanine/library addition.
Key project elements and conditions - Enrollment and capacity: staff said the project’s schedules and staggered programs could result in a maximum of about 372 students on campus at any one time. - Outdoor space and trees: the design converts the north parking lot into an outdoor play and learning area, reconfigures the south parking lot for circulation and loading, and proposes to remove 20 existing trees to make the new field; the applicant would plant 45 replacement trees (20–60-inch box size range as proposed) in and around the field, the Sacramento frontage and the south parking area. - CEQA: staff recommended the commission find the project exempt under CEQA Guideline section 15332 (infill development) and supported by the transportation impact analysis and other studies. - Transportation and operations: the commission adopted conditions requiring a pickup/drop-off plan, carpool matching services, payment of transportation impact fees for city and county programs, specified off-site improvements (sidewalks, pedestrian markings, bike-lane visibility treatments and signing), and a year-of-occupancy monitoring program to evaluate drop-off/pick-up safety and efficacy with a path to modify operations if needed.
Design and public comment Architects and landscape designers described exterior refresh work, lightening of awnings to improve daylight into classrooms, and a heavily landscaped, multi-use outdoor play/learning area intended to increase usable, high-quality outdoor amenity even as the site cannot meet the city standard for combined indoor/outdoor recreational space for grades 1–8. The applicant emphasized that SLOCA has been searching for a permanent campus for years and must relocate as current leases will expire.
Public supporters spoke in favor. Parent and user Ezra Morrow said the school draws families from across the county and praised the program; teacher and parent Stephanie Ridley described SLOCA as a long-standing option with substantial parent involvement and financial-aid commitments.
Commission deliberation and vote Commissioners focused questions on queuing and safety for drop-off/pick-up periods, bicycle parking counts, and the reduced amount of on-site recreational field area versus the city standard. Transportation staff and the applicant explained on-site queuing, an on-street drop-off section on Sacramento and various design measures; staff said the monitoring program and potential follow-up would allow staff and the applicant to address operational issues in the first year and that staff may bring the item back for reevaluation if conditions are not effective.
After discussion, a motion to approve the project with the conditions in the draft resolution was adopted by roll call (Vice Chair Tully: yes; Commissioner Khan: yes; Commissioner Flores: yes; Commissioner Munoz Morris: yes; Chair Dave Houghton: yes).
Next steps The approval amends the site'specific PD overlay to allow school/daycare uses and authorizes the tenant improvements, site landscaping, tree replacements and the transportation measures required as conditions of approval. Conditions require implementation of the pickup/drop-off plan, payment of transportation impact fees, construction of specified off-site improvements and a one-year monitoring program to confirm the effectiveness of operational measures; staff will track compliance and the project will be subject to standard permit and inspection processes.
