The Cooper City Planning & Zoning Board on Nov. 3 approved a conditional use, site-plan amendment and plat amendment allowing Potential Christian Academy to expand its campus at 12401 Sterling Road to add ninth through twelfth grades and new classroom space.

The petitions — a conditional use, a site-plan amendment and a plat-note amendment — were approved following staff presentations, a petitioner presentation and a public hearing in which a neighbor raised stormwater and berm erosion concerns. The board recorded at least one dissent citing traffic concerns but carried the motion to approve and then approved the site plan and plat amendment.

Planning staff told the board the property is about 11.23 acres and described the requests as an increase in total student enrollment (noted in the staff presentation as from 412 to 745), addition of grades 9–12 phased in beginning with ninth grade, an increase in the total number of classrooms from 26 to 37 (three new modular buildings providing six new classrooms and five classrooms repurposed within the existing building), and related site circulation and security changes. Staff reported the DRC committee found the site and landscape plans conform to applicable zoning district regulations and recommended approval, with a staff-requested condition that fence/gate approval from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) be obtained prior to permit issuance rather than being deferred until a certificate of occupancy.

Why it matters: the expansion will add secondary grades and substantially increase enrollment over time, which the board and consultants said requires traffic-management contingencies and attention to stormwater and easement approvals before final occupancy.

Traffic analysis and mitigation

Tom Hall of Thomas A. Hall Inc., the traffic consultant on the project, described field observations and a distribution analysis that, in his account, indicated roughly 25% of school-generated trips would arrive southbound on Flamingo Road and the remainder via Sterling Road. Hall said he observed regular gaps in traffic on Sterling Road and that existing circulation allows vehicles to loop through the site to drop off and exit via the western driveway. The traffic study reviewed by the Corradino Group identified a southbound right-turn-lane queue deficiency at the signalized Sheridan Street and Flamingo Road intersection; the study estimated the southbound right-turn lane queue would increase by 205 linear feet between background and total project conditions. The applicant asked the city to not require a turn-lane improvement at that intersection as a condition of approval.

Board members and the consultant discussed contingency measures: the applicant’s operations plan commits to staggered arrival/dismissal times by grade band, on-site circulation measures, and a traffic-detail sworn officer to manage off-site queueing if on-site stacking affects Sterling Road or Flamingo Road. The applicant also committed to a follow-up traffic analysis once the school reaches maximum enrollment to evaluate whether additional measures are needed.

Security, schedule and site layout

Staff and the petitioner described an operations and security plan that includes a director of campus security on site Monday–Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., an additional full-time security officer and perimeter fencing. During school hours the only pedestrian/vehicle entry proposed to be used is the western Sterling Road entrance; other entrances would be locked. Staff noted some proposed fencing will be within a South Florida Water Management District easement and that SFWMD sign-off is pending.

Public comment and drainage concerns

During the public hearing neighbor Carrie Jagdeo Singh said a berm along the northern/western property boundary has washed away and that stormwater from the church/school parcel has been collecting on her property, creating mosquito habitat and damaging her fences. She asked the city and applicant to address the berm and drainage.

Jason Wilson of Pillar Consultants, the project engineer on record, said the project went before the Central Broward Water Control District in June and that the approved plans require a reevaluation of the berm prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy; he said the district’s manager will walk the berm with the project team to ensure it contains the on-site water as intended.

Conditions and approvals

At the meeting a motion to approve the conditional use was made and seconded; board members debated the timing of fence approvals and whether the applicant should be responsible for a turn-lane improvement on a state-owned road. The DRC-recommended approach — requiring South Florida Water Management District approval of the fence/gate or an alternate contingency fence line prior to building-permit issuance — was discussed as the primary condition. The board then approved the site-plan amendment and the plat amendment. The chair also asked the applicant to work with the neighbor on the berm and drainage concerns as part of their permit/CO process.

Quotes

"So we're talking about doubling the number of students," said Julia Elliott, head of school at Potential Christian Academy, describing the phased high-school addition and the decision to stagger start and dismissal times "so we won't have more cars on campus in a few years than we currently have."

"I've been out there multiple times to observe the exiting traffic, and it's been no problem at all," said Tom Hall, the traffic consultant, when asked about on-site circulation and Sterling Road gaps.

What the approvals require next

Staff and the applicant said the fence and gate installations that intrude into the water-management easement require SFWMD approval; staff recommended that approval or an equivalent contingency be in place before issuance of building permits. The applicant’s engineer said the berm and drainage will be reevaluated with the water-control district before a certificate of occupancy is issued.

Next steps

The petitioner will proceed with permit applications. Staff will require evidence of SFWMD coordination for fences in the easement prior to permit issuance and the applicant committed to a traffic analysis at full enrollment to verify whether additional off-site mitigations are necessary.

Ending note

The board closed the public hearing, approved the three petitions and instructed the applicant to coordinate final drainage and fence approvals with the appropriate water-control agencies and to work with the neighboring resident to address the berm and runoff concerns.