Liberty School, a private school that offers specialized education for elementary- and middle-school-aged dyslexic and gifted students, heard from potential neighbors Thursday night as it prepares to seek a new home.
In its eight-year history, Liberty has held classes in pastors’ homes, church basements, an aircraft hanger, offices at StoneAge WaterBlast Tools and the top floor of the Arts and Sciences Building next door to the School District 9-R Administration Building, where it is currently holding classes.
“We have the space until the end of the 2015-2016 school year,” said Suzette Collard, business and admissions director, “and then we’ll be homeless again.”
The school district intends to put the proposed Juniper Charter School in the space. A donor is under contract to purchase Jim Bennett’s 9-acre parcel off Western Avenue, which runs parallel to Junction Street, from his estate. The purchaser plans to donate it to Liberty so it can finally build a home of its own.
The process will include a request for annexation to the city, a request for a zone change from residential to public and a conditional-use permit to be issued by the city. One of the conditions will be that the school can have a maximum of 49 students.
About 45 residents from County Road 204 and along Hockett, Pleasant and Sunnyside streets came to hear the school’s plans and raise concerns. And more than anything else, they are worried about traffic, traffic down the three narrow streets to the school, and even more about the traffic coming down County Road 204 as it changes into Junction Street at the city limit, where parents would be turning left to take their children to school and pick them up.
“The people who come flying down Junction,” said Paula Wiseman, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1960, “and they’re not tourists, they’re locals, they’re driving 45 or 50 mph.” The speed limit is 25 mph.
The city is going to ask for a traffic study before issuing the conditional-use permit, said Craig Roser, a staff planner with the Community Development Department. City Engineer Greg Boysen said the city would also seriously look at putting in a school zone from the city limit all the way south of the three streets.
“I’m worried about what’s happening to my neighborhood,” said Robin Mill, “because it feels like it’s turning into an extension of North Main (Avenue). Miller (Middle School) truly backs up all the way to the light, then we have Four Corners (Health Care Center) and the (4 Corners Child Care) and now this.”
Nancy Lauro, a planner with Russell Planning and Engineering, which is guiding the school through the process, told attendees that elementary schools are required to be in neighborhoods.
“Generally, schools are good neighbors,” she said, “quiet at night, quiet on weekends and in the summer.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect speed limit for Durango’s residential neighborhoods. The speed limit for drivers coming into Durango on Junction Creek Road (County Road 204) changes to 25 mph at city limits. Also, the parcel that will be donated to the school is under contract with the Jim Bennett estate.
