Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission debates private-school rules and postpones text amendment
Summary
The board discussed proposed zoning changes to private-school rules including a 30-foot buffer adjacent to residences and requiring special-use permits for outdoor athletic facilities or construction; commissioners asked staff to broaden the proposal and tabled action for further drafting.
The board took up a proposed text amendment to Article 7 that would update standards for private and parochial schools in AG and residential districts. Staff said the proposal would require at least five acres in AG/residential districts, a 30-foot buffer where adjacent to residential properties, and would require a special-use permit (SUP) when a private school proposes outdoor fields, pools or similar recreational facilities.
Planning staff noted parallels with religious-institution rules and stressed the SUP trigger was intended to allow case-by-case conditions for noise, lighting and site design. Commissioners debated whether the SUP trigger should apply more broadly to any building construction or expansion rather than only to outdoor recreation, and discussed including loudspeaker and noise provisions or tying SUP conditions to the noise ordinance.
Several commissioners said they preferred an approach that would require an SUP for significant facility development at private schools so the county could impose conditions. After discussion, the board voted unanimously to postpone the item indefinitely and asked staff to return with revised language that could include triggers for any new construction or expanded facilities and more explicit noise controls.
