Star council tables Pollard Lane elementary school permit, asks applicant to show traffic fixes with ACHD

The Star City Council on Tuesday delayed a decision on a conditional use permit that would allow West Ada School District to build a new elementary school on the west side of North Pollard Lane, north of Floating Feather, saying the district must provide a clearer plan for traffic circulation and work with the Ada County Highway District.

City staff opened the public hearing and recommended approval after confirming that application materials, agency transmittals and legal notices complied with the city’s Unified Development Code and comprehensive plan. David Reinhart, chief operating officer for West Ada School District, told the council the project is intended to relieve crowding — “we are approximately a hundred and 5 students over capacity at that school” — and that the district expects roughly 333 additional students in the neighborhood over the next three years.

Council members and dozens of residents focused nearly all public testimony on traffic, safety and drainage. Multiple residents said existing congestion on Pollard and the intersecting arterial roads creates safety risks for emergency response and for children walking to school; several asked the council and the district to secure a secondary access and additional buffering for back-yard properties. The city’s staff engineer said preliminary stormwater plans call for below-grade seepage beds and grading to keep runoff on site.

Architects for the district described a compact, masonry-front elementary school with play areas and covered outdoor classrooms. Toby Norskog of LKV Architects said the site will be fenced and that heavy-use functions such as trash enclosures were located away from nearby homes. “We are trying to keep all the heavy lifting stuff as far away from the neighbors as possible,” Norskog said.

Residents questioned whether most students would be bused — a point raised at the prior approvals for the middle school nine years earlier — and urged more active steps now to secure widened lanes, crosswalks and signals. Reinhart said the district provides busing according to state requirements and that “we cannot force anybody to ride a school bus,” and he said the district has placed the Pollard widening on its five-year list with ACHD. He also told the council the state funding enabling the project comes from a legislative appropriation referenced during the presentation.

After deliberation the council voted to table the application for two weeks and directed the applicant, city staff and others to return with: (1) a concept showing a north-side secondary access into the site (not limited to buses), and (2) documentation of outreach with Ada County Highway District regarding traffic improvements and the possibility of a traffic signal at Pollard Lane and Floating Feather. Mayor Chadwick said the council would press ACHD and asked staff and the district to pursue the changes quickly.

The motion to table was made by Councilman Paul Nielsen and seconded by Councilman Paul Wheelock. The roll-call vote on the motion was recorded as aye from Councilman Hershey, Councilman Wheelock, Councilwoman Tomlinson and Councilman Nielsen; the motion carried.

The council set the follow-up hearing for two weeks later and limited the reopened public hearing to the traffic/egress items the council requested. The district said it would continue design work and coordination with fire, police and its transportation contractor while the traffic study is completed.

How this could affect Star: the project aims to reduce lengthy student bus rides for residents who currently travel to Eagle; residents and the council said they want to ensure school openings do not increase congestion or safety risks on Pollard and surrounding arterials. The council emphasized it will require demonstrable traffic mitigation steps before making a final land-use decision.