Williamson County Schools (WCS) requests consideration of a rezoning proposal for the property located at 9714 Split Log Road, situated along the eastern edge of the City. The property is commonly referred to as the "Foster Property". The requested zone change is from the R-2 zoning district to the SI-2 zoning district.
WCS has purchased the property and proposes to construct a new kindergarten through fifth grade (K-5) elementary school on-site. A new middle school will also be constructed on the site, to the north of the elementary school at some point in the future. However, the immediate need in the area is for an elementary school to help relieve overcrowding at Kenrose Elementary School. Plans are for the new elementary school to open in August 2018 for the 2018/2019 school year. Modifications to the attendance zones will be prepared by WCS to accommodate the new school. Dependent upon the design of the proposed modified school attendance zone plan, it is possible that the new school could also relieve some pressure on Crockett and Sunset Elementary Schools. The timing of School Board consideration of the proposed attendance zone plan will be dependent on the timing of the opening of the new school.
The design of the building will be very similar to that used for the existing Clovercroft Elementary school and will include a total of two-stories, except for the gym. The site statistics are detailed in the following table.
| Building Footprint |
61,000 sf |
| Total Area of Building |
118,000 sf |
| Student Capacity |
825 |
| Staff |
65 |
| Number of Classrooms |
46* |
| Parking Spaces Provided |
111 |
| Parking Spaces Proposed |
213 |
| * Classrooms = 42 general education, 2 special education, one music and one art. |
The zoning ordinance requires that parking be provided at one space per employee plus one space per classroom. For this site, a total of 111 parking spaces are required. The submitted site plan shows 213 parking spaces. Internal vehicle stacking lengths for parents dropping off and picking up students are provided as part of the design and should be sufficient to accommodate stacking onsite without impacting Split Log Road.
To help minimize topographic issues and preserve the potential for future development, the new elementary school will be built on the flatter portions of the property to the west, adjacent to Split Log Road. Athletic fields will be located to the north of the school, between the elementary school and future middle school. Access to the campus will be provided via a new drive at the intersection of Split Log and Pleasant Hill Roads. The newly configured intersection will be signalized. WCS has prepared a traffic impact analysis (TIA) that will help to determine the improvements necessary to the adjacent roadways to mitigate the traffic impact created by the school. The TIA has been forwarded to Neel-Shaffer, the City's transportation consultant, for review and assessment of any proposed improvements. The TIA will include data regarding the warrant for the traffic signal which could be installed at the intersection of Split Log Road and Pleasant Hill Road.
WCS is also working to complete a boundary survey for the property, which will show utilities, easements, structures, etc. currently encumbering the property.
Presently, there is one house located in the eastern portion of the property. According to the Property Assessor, the house includes an area of 3,224 square feet and was originally constructed in 1965. There are also several accessory structures on the property. All structures will be demolished as part of the development of the site.
Bernini Place, in the adjacent Tuscany Hills Subdivision is designated as a temporary dead end street. There are no plans to extend this street into the site. However, it is possible that a pedestrian trail could be installed at the end of the street, which will allow students in Tuscany Hills to safely walk/bike to school. City and WCS staff have had some discussions about such a trail. WCS will be asked to install a sidewalk along their Split Log Road frontage. The City is exploring the possibility of constructing a new sidewalk from the western school property boundary back to the west across the frontage of Tuscany Hills to Tuscany Way which will allow students living on the north side of Split Log Road to walk/bike to school. Please remember that there is an existing multi-use trail along the south side of Split Log Road that will allow pedestrian access to the school via a protected pedestrian crosswalk at school entrance road.
Finally, Water Services staff has completed a water and sewer capacity analysis for the proposed schools and determined sufficient water and sewer capacity exists to support the new schools on this site.
The Planning Commission will provide its review and recommendation at its April 4, 2017 meeting.
The community meeting was conducted on March 30 at the Ravenwood High School Library. A total of 5 citizens attended the meeting. Please refer to the meeting summary attached below.
Second and final reading of the proposed ordinance by the Board of Commissioners is scheduled for April 24, 2017.
Should you have any questions, or require additional information, please contact the Planning and Codes Director. |