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Council Approves Dalton Learning Academy Special Exception for K‑8 School at Town Centre Plaza
Summary
Council approved Resolution 25‑R‑30 granting a special exception to allow a K‑8 private school (Dalton Learning Academy) inside an existing ~44,000 sq ft plaza building. The approval capped enrollment at 200 students, required an operational management plan and depended on an existing shared parking agreement.
The City Council voted to approve Resolution 25‑R‑30, granting a special‑exception use (SEU) to Dalton Learning Academy for a K‑8 private school to occupy about 14,450 square feet of a multi‑tenant building at 10011 South U.S. Highway 1.
Planning staff said the parcel is part of the Town Centre outparcel system and the applicant proposed to locate classrooms in the middle section of a 44,000‑square‑foot building formerly used by other tenants. The proposed tenant space would include roughly 12 classrooms and a playground area; the applicant represented that the school would cap enrollment at 200 pupils (state‑statute classroom‑size limitations apply) and provide before/after care from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with instructional hours roughly 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Planning staff and outside traffic consultants reviewed queuing and access; the site uses shared parking agreements for the shopping center and, in staff’s review, the queuing/stacking provided 52 vehicle spaces for pick‑up/drop‑off circulation along an internal wrap‑around path. Staff recommended a condition that the operational management plan be enforced and that if stacking or traffic issues recur the school owner must amend the plan within 45 days in coordination with Public Works. The Planning & Zoning Board recommended approval; council approved the SEU with conditions that include: (1) grant is exclusive to current applicant and terminates on discontinuation or ownership change; (2) maximum enrollment 200 students; (3) shared‑parking agreement remains in force.
The applicant said the school will implement campus‑security measures (fencing and controlled access to the playground), coordinate with the neighboring church for overflow queuing if needed, and pursue bus transportation for a portion of students to reduce curb‑side stacking.
What changed and next steps The council added the conditions described above and gave staff direction to enforce the operational management plan and return if traffic or stacking problems require further mitigation. No appeal or judicial action was recorded during the meeting.
