For the week of June 25 - July 1, 2003

Sagewillow school plan receives final approval

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Sun Valley Planning and Zoning commissioners this week issued final design-review approval for plans by The Community School to develop a new elementary campus on its Sagewillow property in Elkhorn.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, June 24, the panel voted to approve the "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law" pertaining to design approval granted June 10 for development of the Sagewillow site.

The vote officially approved the design and layout of the first phase of the project.

The final vote was seemingly the final chapter in a long saga for The Community School, whose representatives have appeared before the P&Z more than a dozen times in the last 13 months to seek approval of the project.

However, project manager Lori Labrum said Tuesday that the school, despite gaining permission for the project, will not proceed immediately with development of the new elementary campus. She said the school has been advised not to start the project until a lawsuit challenging city approval of a conditional-use permit for the project is resolved.

"I’m hopeful that we can move forward at this point," said Jon Maksik, school headmaster.

The final approval issued Tuesday was for a plan by The Community School to develop three buildings on the 30-acre Sagewillow site that would total approximately 21,000 square feet.

As the first phase of its development plans, the school plans to construct a new "Community Room" building and a separate classroom building, as well as to convert the existing stables on the property into an administrative building and "Early Childhood Center," or preschool.

An approximately 170-square-foot observatory that was originally planned to be included in the first phase of construction has been put on indefinite hold.

The P&Z attached 16 conditions to their approval of the design plan, including one that notes that the second and third phases of the project will be subject to separate design-review processes.

Other conditions of approval will strictly limit parking stalls, indoor and outdoor lighting, and the use of the public portion of nearby Arrowleaf Road for loading or unloading students.

The Community School submitted its design-review application for the project after an approximately nine-month battle to gain approval of a conditional-use permit for the plan. The P&Z in January unanimously approved the CUP with a long, six-page set of conditions.

The CUP approval was appealed by three groups to the Sun Valley City Council, which ultimately upheld the P&Z decision. However, a contingent of residents who live on Arrowleaf Road—the only access point to and from the proposed school—filed a lawsuit in April against the city claiming that it acted unlawfully in issuing the permit.

Additional phases for the new campus would likely include a library, additional classrooms and a multi-purpose structure.

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