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Liberty School clears hurdle to build

New schoolhouse on Western Avenue planned

The Liberty School, a private institution, took an important step Monday toward a new building on Western Avenue.

The Durango Planning Commission decided to approve the necessary annexation, new zoning and special-use permit required for the project to move forward with plans to develop 3 acres on the 9-acre parcel.

The commission encouraged school officials to work with the neighbors to resolve concerns about traffic before it goes to the Durango City Council for final approval.

Planning Commissioner Joe Lewandowski was the only dissenting vote on all the issues. He favored a continuance that would require the school officials and neighbors to come to an agreement and return to the Planning Commission.

“We all operate best when we have real firm agreements,” he said.

But Peter Tregillus argued that if the school officials did not work with the neighbors, complaints would be raised at City Council.

Liberty School is looking to build because it is currently housed in the same building as Big Picture High School on 12th Street. But it needs to find a new home because Durango School District 9-R would like to house the new Juniper School in that space.

Right now the school serves about 25 dyslexic and gifted students in first through eighth grade. The special-use permit allows the school to serve a maximum of 49 students.

The neighbors voiced support for the school, but they called on the planning commissioners to table the decision until more traffic data could be collected.

The traffic study used 15-year averages instead of fresh data because traffic counters malfunctioned, the study said.

“I think there is too many assumptions being made,” said Doug Reynolds, a neighbor.

Residents asked for a traffic study that would focus on time periods when parents and staff would be commuting.

An engineer countered the school would generate 60 new cars, at the most, going to and from the school and an additional study would not reveal anything new.

“It’s not going to shoot any holes in the numbers that I presented here,” said Jim Horn with Russell Planning and Engineering.

Residents also voiced concerns the three residential streets can not support the new impact, and they asked the city to consider a new access road that would intersect with Junction Creek Road.

But the parcel that would need to be split by a new road is not open for development, said Nancy Lauro, with Russell Planning and Engineering. Junction Creek Road would have to be improved, and the school could not afford it, she said.

The tendency for drivers to speed along Junction Street was also raised as an ongoing safety concern.

A school zone with signs and the potential for expensive fines offer the best hope for addressing this issue, Horn said.

If a school is not built on the parcel, it could be split into residential lots that would also drive more traffic, Lauro said.

In addition to another layer of approval, school officials must raise $1.6 million for construction, said Suzette Baker, the business and admissions director. So far, they have 22 percent of their goal.

The land for the project is being purchased by an anonymous person, she said. The school plans to leave 6 acres for open space.

The design portion of the project will not go through a public-review process because it is a public building, said Greg Hoch, director of community development.

If the school closed, a commercial or residential project would have to go through the Planning Commission to have the parcel rezoned, said Craig Roser, a city planner.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

Liberty School Site Plan (PDF)



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