Planning commission approves parking relief for Capital Academy at 1414 N. Cameron St.

The Harrisburg Planning Commission voted to approve a special-exception request allowing Capital Academy at 1414 North Cameron Street to reduce its off‑street parking requirement as the school expands.

Planning bureau staff told the commission that the school's enrollment is expected to rise from 115 to 147 students and staffing from 40 to 52 employees, which increases the zoning-code parking requirement from 69 spaces to 89 spaces. After installing modular classrooms and reconfiguring the lot, the site will provide 72 spaces on‑site, creating a shortfall for which the applicant sought relief. Planning staff recommended approval with conditions, saying the applicant met the criteria for a special exception and the change should have a negligible neighborhood impact.

"The applicant is requesting relief from 4 of the required off street parking spaces associated with the expansion of the school public or private, primary or secondary use on-site," planning staff said during the presentation, and later calculated that relief from 17 off‑street spaces was needed based on the submitted figures. Staff's recommended conditions included coordinating with Capital Region Water on site disturbance and relocating the parking several feet west, plus installing landscape screening along the eastern frontage of the property.

Attorney Ash McComby, representing the applicant, said the team accepted the first condition and would work with staff on landscaping. Applicant Josh Gray, who identified himself as the property's majority owner, described the modular units as "additional classroom space" that will be permanent and said most students are bussed in, limiting demand for staff and student parking: "These students are on bus ... so most of them, there's not a lot of high age individuals that could drive."

Commissioners asked about capacity, floodplain issues and the traffic study. Staff said the modular units are in the floodplain but outside the floodway and are subject to the zoning-code floodplain review (section 7-3-15). The applicant cited a parking study that estimated roughly 28–39 vehicles typically parked onsite during school operations, which staff and commissioners said supported the relief request.

A commissioner moved to approve the project with the recommended conditions, a second was recorded, and the commission approved the special-exception application by voice vote. The approval is conditional on the coordination and screening measures recommended by staff.