SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A STEM public charter school in Lake Mary has plans to expand in the coming years to accommodate more students near the existing site on U.S. 17-92 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
But that means more traffic, more noise, and more growing pains that need to be addressed before county commissioners give their approval.
This week, representatives from the Seminole Science Charter School and its development team shared their latest proposal with the Board of County Commissioners. They hope to build a new 73,000 square foot, two-story building that will eventually accommodate high school and middle school students. The current school nearby only serves grades K-8.
The proposal has already gone in front of the county’s Planning and Zoning commission that suggested the site should have no connection to nearby Pugh street in the Lake Mary Woods neighborhood, and a fence should be installed along the north side of the property by existing homes.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Scott Leitner, who has lived on Pugh Street for nearly 20 years, said he knew the 8-acre parcel would eventually be developed, but he hopes that the concerns from him and his neighbors will be addressed.
“The existing school has been my rear neighbor at this point. There are some concerns with the noise that comes from the school,” said Leitner. “A big concern was, you know, parents or even students using, you know, Pugh Street here as a place to park or drop off kids to avoid the queue.”
Leitner was one of the residents who showed up to share public comments on the project Tuesday afternoon. He told our News 6 crew about possible noise, privacy, flooding, and traffic issues.
Curtis Wilson, who also lives in Lake Mary Woods, told Commissioners that the existing school already has traffic problems.
“Every morning there is spillover to the fact where it’s dangerous to exit our current sub[division] off Weldon,” said Wilson. “It’s gotten so bad that people are queuing all the way down to 17-92 and then going up to our sub and doing turn arounds in our sub every morning to get a right turn lane into our school.”
The team working to get the proposal for the new school approved said a traffic study has been done and engineers at the county have reviewed and signed off on it.
Commissioner Andria Herr said she finds it difficult to believe there would not be adverse impacts to U.S. 17-92 during school pick up and drop off times.
“I don’t understand how we can possibly que up 970 vehicles,” Herr said. “I do not want this to become a county problem where we have to expand the damn lanes on that road to pay for this. I’m just going to say that out loud because that’s where I think this is headed.”
Brent Spain, who presented the plans to the Board, said the development team has been receptive to the community’s concerns.
“You didn’t hear a single individual today actually mention to you that we don’t comply with a policy or goal of your comp plan. You didn’t hear an individual this afternoon site a land development code provision that we don’t comply with,” said Spain.
Others who attended Tuesday afternoon’s meeting spoke in favor of the school’s expansion plans. Commissioner Amy Lockhart, who represents the district where the property is, said she understands that the community appreciate what the Seminole Science Charter School does and the education it provides to students, but that is separate from the site plan that the Board must address.
“Love, love, love that people love, love, love this school, but that’s not what we’re here to decide today is whether it’s a good school or not,” Lockhart said
Ultimately, the Board of County Commissioners decided that the plans need more fine tuning before they can give their approval. They will continue the discussion at a meeting on March 25.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: