Southwest Ranches caps Archbishop McCarthy enrollment, approves portables with traffic and monitoring conditions

The Southwest Ranches Town Council approved a resolution allowing Archbishop McCarthy High School to add ten temporary classrooms, expanded stabilized turf parking and an eight‑foot precast wall, but limited any immediate enrollment increase and attached strict traffic‑mitigation and monitoring conditions.

School president Richard Jean told the council the school’s enrollment has grown sharply in recent years, in part because state vouchers have expanded demand. “We do not want to get bigger,” Jean said, describing the school’s desire to serve its local community while improving security and operations. Staff and the applicant agreed to several conditions intended to control peak congestion and protect nearby residents.

Town planning staff summarized the traffic analysis prepared for the application and recommended a phased enrollment approach rather than granting the full 400‑student increase the school requested. Staff said existing on‑site circulation and nearby intersections — especially turn lanes on Flamingo Road — showed queuing that could be mitigated if the study’s recommendations are implemented. Staff recommended an initial, smaller increase (they suggested 2,050) only if the school implements all mitigation measures; the council instead capped enrollment at the school’s current actual count (1,940) for the 2026–27 school year while requiring monitoring.

The council’s approved conditions require the school to: - implement the traffic‑impact study recommendations (including driveway modifications and coordination with Broward County on signal timing), - provide landscaping and maintenance access for the proposed wall and obtain Davie fire department approval, already provided in the file, - construct the additional parking prior to relying on the portable classrooms for capacity, - fund and allow town‑commissioned traffic monitoring (initially monthly, then adjusted based on findings), and - submit periodic enrollment reports to town staff; failure to comply can trigger enforcement including removal of portables or withholding further permits.

Applicant representatives and several public commenters — including parents and an elected official who said they have family attending McCarthy — urged the council to approve the changes with conditions, noting a long permitting process and the school’s academic record. Other residents and council members pressed the school on why the 1,800 enrollment cap (adopted in 2020) had been exceeded and sought concrete guarantees that the town would be able to detect and remedy any deterioration in traffic conditions.

The council voted (roll call) to approve the resolution with amended conditions that capped enrollment at 1,940 for the 2026–27 academic year, required periodic traffic monitoring and reporting, and preserved the council’s authority to deny or withhold future increases if mitigation measures fail. The motion carried on a unanimous recorded vote.

The council’s action leaves the school able to use the approved portables and parking under the new conditions; any request to raise the cap beyond 1,940 will require additional findings and demonstration of traffic mitigation effectiveness over the monitoring period.