Lutz Civic Association Position on the Gates High School

On their website The Lutz Civic Association has posted their position regarding the Gates High School

Here are some excerpts:

The proposed “Gates” middle and high school development was first brought to our attention over two years ago by Patti Girard, the owner of Learning Gate Community School. The LCA has a ten year history with the school, and know them to be good community members. Their current elementary school, located off Hanna Road went through a similar review process when it was initially approved. They have been good custodians of the property and honored their environmental and other plan conditions as they have built out their facility. They have done what they have said they would do, and have constantly strived to minimize impacts to surrounding neighbors.


After working with Ms Girard and through numerous changes to their original middle school/high school plan, we believe The Gates will be an asset to the community. Through this planning process we have been successful in moving the primary entrance to the U.S. 41 driveway. (Note that the requirements of high schools being located on 4 lane roadways are an outcome of prior initiatives of the LCA from over a decade ago). However, development and site plan approvals need to be structured to insure that U.S. 41 remains the primary entrance and that traffic is sufficiently limited on Sunset Lane so as not to substantially degrade its operation. Additionally, environmental issues continue to need attention as planning proceeds. . . . .

 . . . . 1. The level of service numbers (LOS) are created during “peak” traffic hours, ie. 6-8:30 am and 4:30-6:30 pm. The school has agreed to stagger their start and finish times with the kids so they do NOT combine with the local peak hour traffic. Therefore, there will be no deterioration in LOS. However, there are no conditions specifically mandating start and end times to the school. There must be a condition that specifically addresses the start and end time of the school.
2. There needs to be a maximum allowed cars to enter the school off of Sunset Lane. There should be a definite number of “parking passes” allowed the high schoolers, ie. 100. With the 60-70 administrative staff there would total less than 200 trips on Sunset staggered from say 9 – 10 am. It will not interfere with the Lutz Learning Center or with the elementary school traffic on 41. There must be a condition limiting this number.
3. Parking passes or some electronic gate must be placed on Sunset or there is no controlling the traffic. There must be a condition requiring this electronic gate, or there is no way to control this traffic. . . . .


 . . . . Therefore, we offer “conditional support” for this project provided the above concerns are properly addressed. We would hope the LCA would continue to be part of the permitting process to ensure the safeguards are in place for the community.