Camelback Bible Church seeks permission for a second private school; commission sets public hearing

At the June 2 Planning Commission meeting staff summarized a minor amendment to Camelback Bible Church's special use permit (SUP‑26‑053) to allow up to two school entities on campus while retaining existing limits on hours, parking and the overall student cap of 120.

Mr. Burton (staff) said the change does not add a new use or increase floor area and therefore qualifies as a minor amendment; it will return as a public hearing item on June 16. Andrew Miller, speaking as a church member and identifying affiliation with the law firm Birch and Cracula (not representing the firm), told commissioners the church already hosts Acton (about 43 students) and wants to add Protos Academy, a small soccer‑academy‑linked school starting at about 28 students and expected to grow toward about 35. Miller said both schools would operate in existing classrooms and that the combined enrollment would remain below the existing 120‑student cap.

Phil Martin (Protos representative) described Protos as a program tied to the Dynamos soccer club that focuses on character formation and grades roughly 3–8; he said the school would not conduct formal training on the church campus and would schedule three 15‑minute recess periods. Commissioners asked how recess use and any expanded field use would be coordinated; staff and the applicant said the two schools would coordinate timing to avoid conflicts and that no additional parking or physical improvements are proposed.

Next steps: staff confirmed the item is scheduled for a June 16 public hearing (first to determine it is a minor amendment and then for action or continuance). Commissioners requested the staff packet include clear enrollment numbers and confirmation that existing stipulations (drop‑off, parking and hours) will be enforced.