Town Council Rejects Palm Street School Plan, County Hearing Next

A proposal to put a private high school on a small residential street in the foothills of Altadena was rejected Tuesday night by the Altadena Town Council.

The vote ended the Council's role in a process dating back to November of 2010, when Philip Clarke, the owner of the Arcadia-based Arroyo Pacific Academy, purchased two lots at 183-205 Palm Street where a school had been operating without a permit in 2008 and 2009.  

Neighbors on the street formed an association to oppose any future school on the property, and that opposition continued all the way through Tuesday night's meeting.

The Town Council's vote does not mean the school cannot get a permit to operate the school: The ultimate decision will be made by officials at the County Department of Regional Planning. Tuesday's vote means the Council will formally declare their opposition to the project, a factor that will likely be a strong consideration for county hearing officials.

A tentative county hearing for the school has been scheduled for the Department of Regional Planning on April 4, according to Anita Gutierrez, the county planner working on the project.

The Council had voted against the project once in September, and the Council's Land Use Committee voted against it twice, mainly because of concerns over traffic and noise. Clarke, however, modified his plan by decreasing the cap student enrollment to 200 and coming up with a traffic circulation plan that would have students get dropped off in shifts. 

No Outdoor Activities

He emphasized that the school would not have any outdoor sports activities, no physical education, no public announcement system and no school bells.  A traffic planner hired by Clarke said the increased traffic on the street would fall within the threshold considered acceptable by county planners.

Clarke also drew a large supporting crowd: At previous meetings supporters have had a chance to speak, and many of them are from Altadena and have children who attend Clarke's school in Arcadia.

Ultimately, though, the modified proposal did not win over any of the opposition, which filled about half the room of the Council Tuesday night.

Coleen Sterritt of the Palm Street Area Resident's Association (PSARA), the group formed in opposition to the project, said that while the group thinks Clarke's school could benefit Altadena, Palm Street is simply too narrow and residential in character to serve as a location for it.

"Arroyo Pacific might be good for Altadena, just not at this location," Sterritt said Tuesday.

The Council mostly agreed with PSARA: The group voted 11-3 in favor of recommending denial of the project to county planners.  

Council members Jamie Bissner, Allan Wasserman, and Doug Colliflower voted in favor of supporting the project,  Wasserman and Bissner stressed the need for educational facilities in Altadena.

Councilman Gino Sund, who voted against it, provided some interesting background on the project and the Town Council's role in making it usable as a school.  About 20 years back, the Council voted to support a Christian center there that would serve as a residential unit for foster children whose parents were entering the prison system, Sund said.

In doing so, the zoning on the property changed, making it no longer zoned for homes.  Sund said he believes it is the only time in Town Council history the board voted to support a non-residential project to be built in a residential neighborhood.

Sund called it a "cautionary tale" and warned the Council that supporting a school in a residential area, especially one where neighbors are in opposition, would be a bad precedent for Altadena.