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Page 10 • Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019
Brooklyn Park / Brooklyn Center
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Brooklyn Park’s Planning Commission lukewarm on charter school proposal
Commissioners oppose using four residential properties on W. Broadway for new charter school, citing traffi c concerns
By KEVIN MILLER
[e-mail]
A proposal to con-
struct a charter school on
four properties currently
zoned as residential on
West Broadway received
a tepid reception from
the Brooklyn Park Plan-
ning Commission at its
Feb. 13 meeting.
The commission sent
a tie vote to the Brook-
lyn Park City Council on
rezoning the properties, a
recommendation to ap-
prove replatting the four
properties into a single
plat and a recommenda-
tion to deny a condition-
al-use permit for the proj-
ect to the council, which
will hear the issue Feb. 25,
assuming the developer
wants to continue moving
the project forward.
The commission cited
traffi c issues for the site
as the reason for its op-
position.
The proposal is to re-
zone properties at 6648,
6656, 6700 and 6717 W.
Broadway to an offi ce
park zoning district and
issue a conditional-use
permit for a three-story
charter school offer-
ing
pre-kindergarten
through grade 8 classes.
The parcels are located
on the east side of West
Broadway, west of Coun-
ty Road 81 and south of
Interstate 94. The pro-
posal also includes a re-
platting of the 7.45 acres,
turning the four lots into
a single lot zoned for a
business district.
Approximately 800 stu-
dents would be expected
to attend the as-of-yet un-
named charter school.
The developer is also
interested in constructing
a day care or small offi ce
use that could comple-
ment the school on the
site.
There are currently
four single-family homes
on the properties that
would be removed if the
proposal were approved.
Resident Sarah Kelso,
who lives adjacent to the
proposed site, said during
the public hearing that
traffi c on West Broad-
way is already a concern
and that the frequency of
crime in the area makes it
poorly suited for a school.
Homes in the neighbor-
hood are burglarized on
occasion, and drugs have
ended up in her front
yard, she said.
Senior City planner
Todd Larson said that at
a neighborhood meeting
regarding the project, the
city heard consistent con-
cerns related to traffi c on
West Broadway.
West Broadway, a coun-
ty-owned road, lacks any
pedestrian accommoda-
tions beyond the paved
shoulder. While the city
has planned to take own-
ership of the road from
the county, the timeline
in which that would occur
remains unclear. The city
eventually expects to re-
construct and modernize
the road, adding pedes-
trian accommodations,
but the reconstruction
has not been designed,
budgeted or scheduled.
The developer for the
site has submitted plans
for interim traffi c solu-
tions to mitigate the in-
creased traffi c related
to the school. While the
plans have not been fi nal-
ized, the developer has
proposed widening the
road, adding turn lanes,
as well as sidewalks and
crosswalks near the site.
Questions regarding the
fi nancial role of the city,
county and the developer
in road reconstruction, as
well as the exact nature
(SUBMITTED IMAGES)
ABOVE: An artist’s render-
ing of the proposed three-
story charter school near West
Broadway and Interstate 94.
The commission did not recom-
mend that the city council
approve the project.
RIGHT: An overhead view of
the proposed project site, at
6648, 6656, 6700 abd 6717 W.
Broadway.
of road reconstruction,
are still being discussed,
Larson said.
Representatives
of
the developer, who were
contracted to perform
a traffi c study on West
Broadway, said that the
added traffi c from the
school would not push
traffi c levels beyond the
county’s standard. The
school would have an
adult crossing guard on
duty, as well as fl ashing
pedestrian traffi c signs
to help ensure student
safety at a crosswalk.
Planning
Director
Cindy Sherman said that
the landowners have been
attempting to sell or de-
velop the land for several
years and other propos-
als have fallen through.
Neighbors were opposed
to a truck dealership that
was proposed on the site
due to traffi c concerns,
she said.
Commissioners Amy
Hanson, Carol Vosberg,
Hassanen Mohamed and
John Kiekow said they
were concerned about
traffi c on West Broadway.
Commissioner
Syed
Husain said he was satis-
fi ed with the traffi c sta-
tistics cited in the traffi c
study and would support
the development where it
was proposed.
As a motion with a
tied vote fails, a motion
to recommend denial of
rezoning the site failed
in a 4-4 vote. No other
motions were made on
the issue of rezoning.
A single dissenting vote
was cast when the com-
mission voted to recom-
mend approval of the
replatting of the site into
a single plat. A motion
to deny issuance of a
conditional-use permit
for the site was approved
in a 5-3 vote.
The city council is not
bound by the commis-
sion’s decisions. The de-
veloper is also not man-
dated to bring the next
approval stage before the
city council and could
withdraw its application.
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