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Cooper City approves Potential Christian Academy expansion with traffic and security conditions
Summary
The Cooper City Commission approved three resolutions to expand Potential Christian Academy: a conditional use, site plan amendment and plat amendment. Approval came with conditions on drainage, an operations plan, staggered dismissals, a follow-up traffic study and perimeter security tied to a South Florida Water Management District agreement.
The Cooper City Commission on Dec. 9 approved a phased expansion that will grow the school at 12401 Sterling Road from an enrollment cap of 412 to 745 students and add nine through 12th grades, three modular buildings and additional classrooms.
Staff presented findings that the proposed expansion is compatible with surrounding land uses if conditions are met, including a drainage fix along the west property line, security upgrades, a detailed operations plan to manage vehicle stacking and a commitment to a follow-up traffic study once the school reaches full enrollment. The commission heard a presentation from the applicant’s pastor, Danny Fernandez, and architect Philip Aguirre, who described a phased implementation beginning with ninth grade in 2026–27 and an internal plan to use a sworn traffic officer when on-site vehicle queues exceed a marked threshold.
During questions, engineers and traffic consultants described a stacking capacity of about 117 vehicles on site and said the applicant committed to an overflow staging plan and to immediately station a sworn officer if queuing reaches a predefined line on the site plan. On drainage concerns raised by a neighboring property owner, the project team said it will install a curb and other site work to prevent overflows and will implement mitigation prior to certificate of occupancy.
Security measures include locking secondary entry points during school hours, a dedicated campus security program with a primary guardian and a secondary certified officer, and expanded surveillance. The applicant said it is seeking permission from the South Florida Water Management District for fencing in the district easement; the commission required final agreement language be addressed prior to CO rather than before permit issuance to avoid delaying construction.
The commission’s approval included staff’s six traffic and safety commitments and made the expansion approval specific to the current applicant and operator. The vote on the resolutions was recorded in favor by Commissioners Smith, Mallozzi, Katzmann, Schroeder and Mayor Curran.
The city staff said the school must carry out the agreed operations plan, implement drainage remediation, and perform the follow-up traffic analysis at full build-out; staff will include these as enforceable conditions in the final resolutions. If future traffic studies identify deficiencies attributable to the expansion, the city may require corrective measures or revisit the conditional use.
The commission’s action is intended to balance neighborhood traffic and safety concerns with the applicant’s stated educational goals; the city will track implementation of the conditions and review the follow-up traffic study when performed.
