An expanding student population at Koinonia Christian School should have the classroom space they need, after Red Deer’s municipal planning commission approved the development of two new portable buildings at the 6014 57th Ave. school.
The school had applied for authorization to locate two 18.3- by 7.3-metre portable classrooms on the site.
These were to join two existing portables that have been there since 2000.
However, when the matter first came before the commission on July 6, concerns were raised about the lack of bathroom facilities in the new portables and the unsightly appearance of the temporary structures.
On Monday, the commission was told that students using the portables will be able to access the main school via an enclosed passageway.
It also heard that the exterior of the new and existing portables will be finished with a siding that matches the school building.
Koinonia school officials also agreed to locate the new portables in a less visible location, at the request of the Riverside Meadows Community Association. They will be placed together as a single unit.
The commission’s approval is subject to the new portables being painted and sided by Dec. 31 and the existing ones being refinished by April 2010.
The temporary buildings will allowed to remain until July 30, 2012.
Koinonia representative Al Griffith said previously that the school building, which is leased from the Red Deer Public School District, is nearing the end of its life.
Koinonia Christian School will likely relocate in five to 10 years, he said.