Council approves Lakeview Academy expansion despite resident parking and queuing concerns, 3-2

The Saratoga Springs City Council on March 18 approved a major site-plan amendment for Lakeview Academy that adds an estimated 50,000 square feet of building area and a phased enrollment increase of about 300 students, but the project drew prolonged discussion about parking, queuing and pedestrian safety.

The council approved the site plan by a 3–2 vote after extended public comment and council questioning about whether the proposed permanent parking will meet peak demand and whether queuing for parent drop-off blocks 400 North and nearby neighborhood streets. The final motion included staff findings and conditions and a requirement that a 24-space area on the west side of the site be formalized as permanent parking; the motion also invoked the approval factors in the city code related to hours/operations and peak trip generation.

Planning staff said the proposed work would deliver roughly 187 permanent stalls on-site plus an additional 60 stalls for special events, and that a traffic study commissioned for the expansion recommended a minimum of 180 fixed parking stalls (including seven handicapped spaces) to meet daytime demand. The staff report noted state law limits a city’s authority to impose parking minima on charter schools beyond the municipality’s minimum standard for public schools; staff recommended the 187 permanent stalls satisfied the study’s parking recommendation.

Residents and several council members disagreed with counting the 60 event stalls toward the permanent parking ratio. Councilman Macomber and others cited repeated neighborhood observations that parents use nearby Neptune/Patriot Park and portions of 400 North for drop-off and parking, creating queuing that can block residential streets. “I’m very uncomfortable approving this today based on the fact that it is so much less than Ascend Academy and Mountain Sunrise Academy in terms of stalls per 1,000 square feet,” Macomber said, urging staff to present clear, permanent stall counts in future packets.

Representatives of the charter (applicant Brent Pace and school director Rick Feese) said the school has operated traffic-control and parking-management practices, including staff positioned at the major drop-off points during arrival and dismissal, and that additional site adjustments — a fence to prevent early pull‑over inside the first 300 feet of the driveway, crosswalk relocation and timed crossing intervals — are planned to improve flow. Feese said staff would man the drop-off zones and consider staging and software tools to stagger parent arrival times.

Councilman Carn (mover) said he would condition approval on making the 24 west-side stalls permanent and directing the queue to begin beyond those stalls; the motion cited the city-code factors addressing types/times of operation, trip generation and peak demand. After additional discussion and an explicit request that staff study signage and parking restrictions at adjacent park lots, the council voted 3–2 to approve the amendment.

The approval permits the school to proceed with design and building permits under the institutional/civic zone; the motion requires the applicant to follow staff conditions and leaves room for further operational changes should on‑site queuing or off‑site impacts remain a problem. The record shows the council asked staff to return with additional findings and with potential signage or enforcement changes for the adjacent park to limit off-site parking during peak school hours.