City of Red Deer planners are suggesting that residents’ concerns about a pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 francophone school can be properly addressed through bylaws and development permits — so the first step of rezoning should go ahead.
Opponents of the Greater North Central Francophone Education Region No. 2 school along Addington Drive are expected to attend Monday’s public hearing that starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
Council will postpone consideration of second and final readings to amend the East Hill Major Area Structure Plan and the Aspen Ridge Neighbourhood Area Structure Plan, so they can consider what was talked about in the hearing. Final discussion would take place on March 19. The site is zoned for a public kindergarten to Grade 8 school.
The city underwent a second round of consultation with residents who live nearby after realizing more information needed to go out on parking and other issues.
It was also discovered some residents hadn’t received the initial letter sent by the city in December. During that first round of feedback, the city received 193 letters of opposition and three letters in favour of the school.
Commissionaires hand-delivered 500 letters on Feb. 10.
A staff report to council shows that the additional information given to residents didn’t seem to change their opinions.
By the survey response deadline of Feb. 21, 115 surveys were completed. Eight showed support, 106 against.
Most of the concerns centred around traffic, parking and the high school component of the proposed school. Some people took issue with the school being francophone and not public, as well as its conformity with current planning documents.
Planning staff recognized the site meets requirements for an elementary/junior high school, but doesn’t meet requirements for a high school of more than 1,000 students. The proposed francophone high school is much smaller.
“The Planning Department is still of the opinion that the concerns raised can be effectively addressed through the use of existing city bylaws and the development permit application process,” says the staff report.
The new francophone school is one of three P3 (public private partnerships) school projects that the province has planned for Red Deer. The schools will open for the 2014-15 school year. About 250 students would attend the francophone school — 70 of whom would be high school students.
The school division hired Bunt and Associates to conduct a transportation review. Transportation planners and engineers concluded the site and its surrounding area are well serviced by collector roads, which should be able to absorb the school traffic.
As well, the additional intersecting roads — like Ackerman Crescent, Assinger Avenue and Allwright Close — will allow for parking.
City planners add the school site is located on Addington Drive, which is a collector road.
“Traffic from the school can be accommodated on this road, as it was designed to accommodate a school with +/- 600 students,” says the report.
The applicant’s traffic study will be reviewed by engineering staff and the Municipal Planning Commission as part of the application for a development permit.
Council can recommend to the planning commission that additional parking be provided, says the report. The exact location of school bus parking will be finalized by the commission.
Other concerns:
• Planning staff say that any problem behaviour of high school students can be addressed through bylaws, such as Community Standards.
• Some residents say that the francophone school should be built at the Anders East site along Allan Street. Red Deer Public School board decided in 1999 to delete the site for a possible future elementary school. The site was to have been deleted from the East Hill Major Area Structure Plan, but wasn’t.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com