Planning Commission approves CHIBA charter campus with conditions on fencing and lighting

The Planning Commission voted to approve plan-development application PD 20250230 for the California Heritage Youth Build Academy (CHIBA), a proposed 36,000-square-foot charter high school at 1400 Industrial Street, after hearing staff presentations and a public comment from nearby neighbors.

Staff member (speaker 4) described the project as "Chaiba seeks to build a 36,000 square foot charter high school," with classrooms, offices, dining and a gym and outdoor soccer and basketball facilities. The presentation said the building would serve up to 290 students total, with about 130 on campus at a time, and that funding is expected from multiple grants, including the Office of Public School Construction. The site plan shows one primary vehicle entrance from Industrial Street and pedestrian/bicycle connections to local trails; construction includes a box culvert crossing of Little Churn Creek to allow street extension and secondary access.

A neighbor, Kendra Kohler, who identified herself as a backyard neighbor and a school teacher, raised concerns about noise, dust and wildlife impacts and asked whether air-quality monitoring and stronger barriers would be required. "I am a school teacher, and I never want to live next to a school," Kohler said during public comment. Staff responded that the project was covered by a mitigated negative declaration prepared under CEQA and that mitigation measures addressing potential impacts to birds and bats are incorporated into a mitigation monitoring program.

Commissioners questioned the condition language for the buffer yard and fencing, noting the site limits and cost of masonry walls across long runs of property. To address aesthetic and security concerns commissioners and staff drafted permit conditions on the record: "Any future security fencing shall be decorative and placed near the edge of or interior to the area of hardscape improvements," and final fence design shall be approved by the development services director. Staff also read a lighting condition: "Any future outdoor facility lighting shall meet the requirements for commercial lighting per section 18.40.90 of the zoning ordinance." Those conditions were included in the approval motion.

Mike Dormer, representing the applicant, told commissioners the team was "very satisfied with the conditions and ready to build a school," and project representatives described a career-technical education program in which many students would spend time off campus for industry placements and pathways. The commission approved the findings, adopted the mitigated negative declaration and mitigation monitoring program, and approved PD 20250230 subject to the draft conditions and the newly added fencing and lighting requirements. The motion carried after commissioners voiced support for the project and the added conditions.