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Planning panel unanimously denies land-use change and rezoning for proposed BridgePoint Charter School
Summary
The commission voted 6–0 on June 16 to recommend denial of a comprehensive-plan amendment and rezoning that would have allowed BridgePoint to convert a light-industrial parcel to an institutional school site; staff cited protection of designated economic-development land and roadway incompatibility.
Lancaster County planning staff recommended denial on June 16 of a comprehensive-plan amendment and rezoning that would have allowed an existing light-industrial parcel near Harrisburg Road to be repurposed as BridgePoint Charter School. The Planning Commission voted 6–0 to recommend denial of both CP 2026-1016 and RZ 2026-1016 and will forward the record to County Council.
Staff explained the proposed change would move the parcel’s future land-use designation from an "economic development" category to a "growth area," a change staff said runs counter to Goal 2.1 in the county’s comprehensive plan, which aims to preserve land for commerce and employment-generating uses. Staff also noted that schools can be allowed under IMX zoning via conditional use, but the applicant requested institutional zoning and a plan-level land-use change.
Applicants Dr. Natalia Panasiuk and building co-owner Skip Powell presented the school as a tuition-free K–8 STEAM-focused charter aiming to open in 2027 with a full capacity of about 860 students and private and state per-pupil funding. The applicants said they had collected community petitions and letters of support and stressed the school would not use county tax revenue. "This is not the real estate transaction to us, it's the belief the kids in this community deserve a great school," Dr. Panasiuk said during her remarks.
Commissioners questioned traffic impacts on Harrisburg Road, stacking capacity for drop-off and pick-up, and whether the requested institutional zoning was necessary given IMX zoning options. Architect Dan Hendrickson, working with Bowman USA, described a site stacking strategy and said preliminary DOT guidance called for roughly 3,500 linear feet of stacking to accommodate projected arrivals; several commissioners said they remained concerned about actual drop-off behavior and cumulative traffic in the corridor.
The motion to deny the comprehensive-plan amendment and the rezoning passed on separate roll-call votes, 6–0 and 6–0 respectively. The Planning Commission record, including letters for and against the proposal, will go to County Council for final action.
