Planning commission approves Archgate Montessori request to raise on‑site student cap to 360

The Plano Planning & Zoning Commission on June 16 approved a request from Montessori New Beginnings (Archgate Montessori Academy) to amend two specific use permits and raise the combined on‑site limit for daycare and private‑school students to 360.

Staff planner John Kim told the commission the amendment would allow the existing programs to continue and gave staff’s recommendation of approval. Kim said the state license lists a facility capacity of 629 students but the applicant had requested to use up to 60% of that number and that combined daycare and private‑school enrollment would be capped at 360 under the amended stipulations.

“The applicants request would allow Archgate Monastery Academy to have any mix of daycare children and private school students up to that 360 amount,” John Kim said during his presentation.

The request prompted questions about traffic and the math used to estimate trips. Kim said traffic engineering estimates use industry trip‑generation rates (International Transportation Engineers figures) and that staff and traffic engineering reviewed on‑site queuing and found it adequate to avoid backup onto Legacy Drive and Ohio Drive. He said staff’s drop‑off observations from recent visits showed queues clearing within minutes.

Residents raised concerns about noise, temporary restroom facilities and whether the campus had adequate utilities. Fred LaVey, who lives adjacent to the site, told commissioners the area seemed to be operated as a for‑profit training site with porta‑potties and a fence and that neighborhood streets had limited on‑street parking. “Their proposal that I saw shows them to have a porta‑potty,” LaVey said, calling that prohibited as a permanent arrangement and citing local code.

Representatives of the school addressed neighborhood concerns and outlined a multilane, staggered drop‑off and pickup plan: the school showed maps of separate queueing areas, staggered arrival windows for toddler, primary and upper‑school programs, and on‑site coordinators and security to keep queues moving. Volunteer board member Beth Tuttle described the school’s measures to minimize neighborhood impacts, including staggered times, multiple drop‑off points and on‑site security.

“We have 7 car active queue manned drop‑off coordinators… so even if everyone showed up at the exact same time … there would still be room in the parking lot,” Tuttle said.

Head of school Rebecca Bernard told commissioners the school had been in the neighborhood since 1986, that prior agreements anticipated larger build‑out, and that the proposed cap aligns with previously discussed plans. Bernard said the school sought the flexibility to mix program types so that classroom ratios could be used efficiently and would in many scenarios reduce traffic by permitting lower‑ratio programs (toddlers, middle school) alongside higher‑ratio primary classrooms.

Commissioners asked for clarifications about current enrollment, potential trip generation and how student mixes affect traffic. Staff noted current summer enrollment at the site is about 161 students, with applicant projections of about 262 students at the start of the academic year and a potential maximum mix reaching the 360 cap. Engineering had calculated roughly 4.1 trips per student per day for daycare/private school uses in their model.

After extended discussion, Commissioner Carey moved to approve the amendments as submitted; the motion was seconded and carried 5–0.

The commission’s approval is an amendment to the local specific use permits; any change to operating hours, numbers or other stipulations in the future would require subsequent review under the city’s land‑use process. The item will proceed to any required follow‑up administrative steps for finalizing the permit language.