Council approves conditional use for Harrisburg Global Academy charter school on former landfill site

Lancaster County Council on Tuesday approved a conditional use permit allowing Alliance Education Services to construct Harrisburg Global Academy, a proposed K–8 charter school, on two undeveloped parcels off Harrisburg Road.

Planning staff presented the application and said the site, currently zoned medium density residential (MDR), required a conditional use for school use and that the developer had revised its site plan to meet buffer and pedestrian‑connectivity requirements in the county UDO. The planning commission recommended approval by a 5–1 vote and staff also recommended approval after outstanding comments were addressed.

Applicant representatives said the site is a former landfill (a capped brownfield) and described the environmental work completed during due diligence. Alliance Education Services' chief operating officer, Justin Matthews, said the school will employ passive and active methane mitigation and vapor barriers and will install perimeter monitoring wells; he said the school had already invested in additional testing and would maintain ongoing monitoring under the voluntary cleanup plan. When asked whether North Carolina students could attend the school, Matthews said, "statutorily no," explaining South Carolina charter schools are limited to South Carolina residents.

Matthews told council the project has high local demand: the developer reported roughly 1,600 pre‑applications for around 500 seats in the planned first year, and plans are for the school to reach roughly 900 students (K‑8) by year three. Alliance said it plans to operate a bus program (multiple runs) and eight buses were in the project plan to limit traffic impacts; the site plan also includes stacking lanes and three inbound lanes to reduce spillover onto Harrisburg Road.

Council members asked questions about the former landfill cap, groundwater direction, and long‑term monitoring. The applicant described the planned grading approach designed to avoid disturbing the landfill cap, a media management plan to test any soils if the cap is breached during construction, and both passive and active vapor mitigation systems at the parking and building areas. Staff confirmed the applicant had provided environmental documentation and an approved voluntary cleanup plan in the project file.

Planning staff noted the site would be required to demolish a small number of existing structures before site development, that athletic fields and parking areas must be buffered from adjacent residential properties, and that pedestrian and trail connections were shown in the revised plan. Council approved the conditional use permit unanimously.

Ending: The applicant will finalize site plans and building permits; monitoring and mitigation requirements described in the voluntary cleanup plan will remain part of project approvals and inspections.