Planning Commission Recommends Approval for Northridge Preschool Enrollment and Hours Amendment

The Albemarle County Planning Commission on the evening of the meeting recommended approval of a special use permit amendment for Northridge Preschool that would raise the facilitys maximum enrollment from 80 to 100 students and extend operating hours to 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Senior planner Sid Shove told commissioners the subject property is about 9.92 acres at 5100 Dickerson Road, zoned Rural Areas and within the Route 29 development area. Shove said an active special use permit approved in 2006 capped enrollment at 80 and that staff reviewed the amendment under zoning-ordinance criteria and found the proposal consistent with the comprehensive plan and not likely to be detrimental to adjacent parcels. Staff recommended approval with three conditions, two related to the applicants proposal and one carryover condition intended to preserve existing woodland.

Debbie Swanson, director of Northridge Preschool, said the center is a religious-exempt child day center serving ages 3 to 6 and that the change would let the program respond to strong local demand and better support working families. "We focus on providing a safe and nurturing, developmentally appropriate environment that supports children's social, emotional, cognitive and kindergarten readiness needs," Swanson said, and described staggered drop-off and pick-up, fenced playgrounds and supervised access-control measures intended to minimize neighborhood impacts.

Commissioners asked for details about classroom layouts, current daily census and the basis for the 100-student cap. Commissioner Bivens questioned whether existing operations already reflected the hours and enrollment described on the preschools website and suggested staff and the applicant clarify how the formal permit change aligns with current use. Swanson and staff said the amendment would align the formal permit conditions with the programs operations and anticipated growth, and that adding students to currently unused classroom space would be the path to expansion.

After discussion the commission closed the public hearing, a commissioner moved to recommend approval "of SP 2025-4 Northridge Preschool with conditions stated in the staff report," and another commissioner seconded. A roll call produced six "Aye" votes and no opposition; the commissions action is a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

The recommendation will next be scheduled for the Board of Supervisors' consideration under the countys land-use review process.