Gates Hearing Transcripts

Received 5/22/2012 9:55 AM BOCC Records
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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
In Re: ZONING HEARING MASTER HEARINGS
ZONING HEARING MASTER HEARING TRANSCRIPT OF TESTIMONY AND PROCEEDINGS
BEFORE: DATE: TIME:
STEVE LUCE Zoning Hearing Master May 14 and May 15, 2012 Commencing at 6:00 p.m. Concluding at 12:20 a.m. Hillsborough County Center 2nd Floor Boardroom 601 East Kennedy Boulevard Tampa, Florida 33601 Jerry Lefler, RPR CRR CM
PLACE:
REPORTED BY:
Executive Reporting Services 13555 Automobile Boulevard, Suite 100 Clearwater, Florida 33762 (727) 823-4155
Executive Reporting Service (800) 337-7740
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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ZONING HEARING MASTER HEARINGS MAY 14, 2012 ZONING HEARING MASTER: STEVE LUCE
I-3
Application Number: Applicant:
SU 12-0429 LU Patti Girard, Learning Gate Ed. Fnd., Inc.
Location:
N/S of Sunset Lane, 800' E/O U.S. Hwy 41
Folio Number: Sec/Twn/Rng: Acreage: Comprehensive Plan: Service Area: Community Plan: Existing Zoning: Request:
13693.0000 12/27/18 72 acres + or minus RES-2 / RES-6 Rural Lutz ASC-1 & RSC-6 Special Use Charter School
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MR. GRADY:
The next item is Agenda Item I-3, The Applicant is The request is
Special Use Application 12-0429. Patti Girard for Learning Gate Ed.
for a Special Use Permit for a charter school. Isabelle Albert will provide Staff recommendation after presentation by the Applicant. HEARING MASTER: MR. MINEER: The Applicant, please. Kevin Mineer with
Good evening.
the Genesis Group, and I'm assisting the Learning Gate team in the development of their new school. We have a Powerpoint that we'd like to present. And first of all, I'd like to have
Ms. Girard, Ms. Patti Girard, she's the Headmaster, the Director of Learning Gate, explain the Learning Gate concept and then I'll finish up. MS. GIRARD: Patti Girard, 16215 Hanna Road,
Lutz, Florida 33549. The mission of the Gates Junior/Senior High School is to graduate students with the skills necessary to successfully compete in the global economy. By using the surrounding environment as a
framework; students construct their own learning using proven educational practices. It's very critical in our Mission Statement, the part about the surrounding environment as a
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framework, as we go along in our presentation, you'll see why this property is so important for the school. These principles that we have listed here are to be considered within the context of rigorous academic standards. Learning Gate Community
School, which is the sister school and will be feeder school for this high school, is already located in Lutz, and it is considered a highperforming school with the state of Florida. What our guiding principles are, are the global awareness, and this is to provide community service opportunities nationally and internationally that teach respect for diversity and promotes good will. Arts and inventive
thinking provide educational opportunities that encourage creativity, innovation and problemsolving through projects in the arts. Technology to provide exceptional IT infrastructure, tools and services that facilitate effective use of technology by the faculty and the students in supportive teaching. An environmental sustainability, to provide opportunities for relationships and interactions that encourage respect and shared responsibility
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for the environment, and prepare students who have the knowledge, skills and commitment to work individually and collectively towards solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones. Whoops, we lost a slide. No, go back. Did we lose a slide?
Oh, well, we'll go past that. One of them is because we do
Why this site?
have a positive relationship with the Lutz community. We've partcipated; we've had some
governors -- I think we've had three governors from our -- that's how they say it: "Governor." our school. HEARING MASTER: MS. GIRARD: What does that mean? I don't know. It's a From
Governor.
honorary type of thing that they have every year. They have somebody. We've participated in Relay for Life. We've
been in parades and we've partipated within the community. Also, during this process we have held three meetings at the school for the neighborhood to talk about and listen to their concerns and to work with that group. We've also worked individually with -- I think we've met four times, maybe five, with a couple of
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representatives who brought some conditions to us, which we -- we worked with them. conditions are in our proposal. Some of those Some of them
cannot be in the proposal, but they're something we have agreed upon and that's something that we will honor. There's a proximity to Learning Gate, our present school. There's a diverse of fresh water There's
marshes, open lakes and forested uplands. also a diverse wildlife population. connectivity to Nye Park.
There' a
One of the things that we're hoping to do is to maybe reach an agreement with the County Parks in order to keep Nye Park open, because I understand it's going to be closed because of funding. And we would be happy to keep that park
up in lieu of allowing us to use that during school for our PE fields and such. And then it would
still be open in the evenings for the community. A large amount of the acreage is mostly in a conservation easement, and we want the ability to put nature trails for the public. We've talked
about a possible place for the Lutz Historical Museum, if that was something that they would be interested in.
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And the hands-on learning, the environment, to teach sustainability. We consider the property as We
our first and most important classroom.
consider this above everything else that has made Learning Gate as successful as it is, because the children actually get to be out there and get to see what happens on a first-name basis. We anticipate a net-zero design with a very low carbon footprint. We're very familiar with all
this, since we have received on the other property LED Platinum status for our buildings. We were
also just awarded a National Green Ribbon Award from Washington, D.C. So, I'll skip some of these things. The principles for our design: To plan,
design and build a campus that's gentle on the land, the animals and the natural resources; to build a facility that is supportive of our beliefs in the sustainability of our planet and will be a teaching tool for our students, parents, visitors and benefactors; create an energizing environment that excites, motivates and maintains a sense of wonder; create a learning environment that supports project-based learning and collaboration; and design a variety of spaces that support a wide
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range of activities, learning modalities and opportunities. This is just a little bit more about a net zero building and what that means and what we'll be doing. This is a Plan of one of the learning communities. high school. The building will not be a typical We're set up in small what we call
"learning communities." These are just some of the proposals that we may be doing so that we have -- okay. be using as classrooms. And I think the rest is your job, right? MR. MINEER: Yep. Thank you, Ms. Patti. That we'll
Again, I'm Kevin Mineer, a planner with the Genesis Group. And I'd like to just kind of walk
you through the site and the plan. The site is located north of Sunset and east of U.S. 41. It's about 62 acres in size. It's
heavily forested, got quite a few wetlands on the site. Simply put, Learning Gate is a unique school. It's the only one of its kind in Hillsborough County, and it's probably one of the very few in Florida. Because it is so unique, it requires a
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unique piece of property, and that's why they like this site so much. The Gates concept heavily immerses their students in all aspects of environmental science and stewardship, and the proposed heavily forested parcel -- the parcel in yellow -- will provide the ideal learning environment for them to continue their nationally recognized environmental program. This is the Site Plan. for a second. surroundings. to the north. south. I'm sorry. Go back
The project is compatible with its Lutz Elementary School is directly There's a private school to the There's a variety
Nye Park is right here.
of commercial on U.S. 41. U.S. 41 is a six-lane arterial. our main access. And that's
This is a copy of our Site Plan.
Our main access is proposed to be off of U.S. 41. Most of the property will remain in a natural state -HEARING MASTER: Mr. Mineer, could you slide
that Site Plan up a little bit? MR. MINEER: Most of the property will remain
in a natural state and large buffers, a minimum of 50 feet and 100 feet, will be proposed adjacent to any existing residential development. That's the
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minimum.
Many, many places the buffer is far more
than 100 feet. The cross-hatched areas and the speckled areas on the Site Plan are all the areas that will remain in a natural state. So a majority of the site will
remain in a natural state. Along the lake, the building setbacks are 150 feet from the lake shore. setback required by Code. The main access, again, is by U.S. 41, eliminating stacking and assess issues, and the start and the end times with classes will be staggered to eliminate impacts during the a.m. and the p.m. rush hours. The school will be bound by a Traffic Circulation Plan approved and monitored by the County to control the hours of operation and student drop-off and pickup times. This is another copy of the aerial showing just how vegetated it is. on the site. These are the wetlands That's three times the
A vast majority of the wetlands, we There's some few small impacts
are preserving.
that we're doing based on negotiations with the neighbors. And that's shown here on the Conceptual Plan.
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What this Conceptual Plan shows is the main access off of U.S. 41. All the buildings will be up here. They're set We
They're one and two stories in size.
back a great distance from any non-school use. have huge buffers on all sides. Let's see.
A vast majority --
Unlike conventional schools, there will be no school stadiums and no evening sports activities, so there will be little or no activity during evening hours. Many of the buildings will have
open porches and decks, promoting the open-air teaching environment. In fact, about a year or so ago they were actually featured in a Southern Living magazine on open-air schools. It's a very, very, very unique
school, one of a kind. The goal is for all the buildings to achieve Gold or Platinum status, similar to the existing Learning Gate facility. This is the Site Plan we submitted to the EPC. A vast majority of the wetlands on site will be left in their natural state, except for a few small impacts. That's to get our road from U.S. 41 and
set it back from the neighbors. This access road will be a minimum of a
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hundred feet from the nearest residence off-site. The last site -- this is a very important site. This school over and over again, year after
year after year, consistently wins award after award after award. from the U.S. winner. They got a Green Ribbon School
They're a Florida Green School award
They're the first public charter school in
the nation to reserve LED status, Platinum status for their buildings. Grade A school. Every year they have been a
They won three awards with the And I
Planning Commission Community Design Awards. like the last one.
They got the recycling award
for collecting the most pounds for the elementary school. That's for their existing facility. Very unique. It's
an extremely green school.
And actually, in conclusion, this is an asset to Hillsborough County. It's one of a kind. They
picked this site specially because it is so unique, so lush, so green. Of all the people that can
develop on this property, these people are the most sensitive. And if you're interested, I've given you copies of the Powerpoint as well as the Site Plan. Wwwlearninggate.org. If you want to surf their
website, you can see dozens and dozens and dozens
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of awards year after year after year.
They're
constantly a good steward and one of the best schools in Hillsborough County. HEARING MASTER: Thank you.
Mr. Mineer, regarding your Do you have an
access to 41, how do you get there? agreement with the adjacent property? MR. MINEER:
We most certainly do.
That legal
access agreement easement language is actually included on the Site Plan. have that approved. HEARING MASTER: I think I saw the legal But you have an We actually -- yes, we
description for the pathway. easement? MR. MINEER: Yes.
Well, we will record
that -- subject to us getting approved, we will record that access easement across that gentleman's property to get to the site. That's a requirement
of our zoning, so without that connection, we don't go forward. HEARING MASTER: MR. MINEER: And how --
We have been in negotiations with He's in full agreement,
that property owner. full -- sure. HEARING MASTER: MR. GIBBONS:
Good evening. My name is John
Good evening.
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Gibbons.
I'm an attorney with the Sacks & Gilmore
firm here in Tampa, 201 East Kennedy Boulevard 33602. The owners of this property also own the property -- the owners of the property that's going to be developed for the school, assuming you approve it, also owns the frontage on 41. Weekly family. It's the
And we have the property owner
contract, and also have an agreement with him as part of that contract for an easement out to 41, as shown on the Site Plan. HEARING MASTER: you know? MR. GIBBONS: I believe that it's 50 feet. Fifty feet wide. Thank you. Okay. What's the width, if
HEARING MASTER: MR. GIBBONS:
Thank you. As opposed to elementary or
HEARING MASTER:
middle school, with a high school, I suspect that a fair number of kids that are 16 years old and older may drive to the site. So, in anticipation of that
fact, because most high schools have larger parking lots to accommodate kids that drive there, your Site Plan, your conceptual one, when you laid it out in terms of where the buildings go, where your access road goes, do you incorporate a large
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parking lot? MR. MINEER: carpooling. Yes, sir. The school encourages
But bottom line is, we will have
enough parking for the students that will use this school. We've set it all out. That's what the
Conceptual Plan here is to show. HEARING MASTER: I know it's a Conceptual Site
Plan, and I appreciate you providing one tonight for tonight's hearing, but do you know generally what the size of that parking lot is? MR. MINEER: that. No. I can get -- I can measure
I can probably get that number for you. HEARING MASTER: The Land Development Code
talks about, for high schools, .33 spaces per student. So, I saw that a thousand kids was the So how many
maximum number of kids for the school.
are middle school and how many of them are high school? MR. MENDEZ: Angel Mendez, 13713 West Sunrise
Boulevard, Sunrise, Florida 33323. The parking lot was designed based on about 500 high school students, and it is Parking Code. HEARING MASTER: Okay. Five hundred high school.
Testimony by a representative was about What does that mean?
staggered hours.
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MR. MENDEZ: staggered.
What we've done is we've
Every 15 minutes we have different And the staggered So after eight
grades coming into the school. hours are outside of the peaks.
o'clock, between eight and nine o'clock in the morning, every 15 minutes we have a certain amount of students coming in based on their grade. the p.m. peak we've staggered the same thing; dismissal times between 3:45 and 4:45 we've staggered the times for the students every 15 minutes to leave the school. So, we're basically avoiding all the peak rush hour traffic and have staggered so the volumes are minimized in 15-minute increments. HEARING MASTER: So, class is dismissed for In
10th grade at a certain point in time, and 15 minutes later the 11th grade students are dismissed. MR. MENDEZ: That's correct. And then the 12th grade
HEARING MASTER:
students are dismissed 15 minutes after that. MR. MENDEZ: That's correct. And so on.
HEARING MASTER: MR. MENDEZ:
And so on. From middle school all the
HEARING MASTER:
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way through 12th.
And that's done in the morning
and than that's done at -- what time does school end? MR. MENDEZ: It's either -- it's between 3:30 We're just trying to
and 4:30 or 3:45 and 4:45. stay outside the peak hours. HEARING MASTER: Okay.
In terms of queuing
for middle school kids and kids up to 16 and those who don't have cars that can't drive independently to the property? MR. MENDEZ: Yeah. If you look at the Site
Plan that you have in front of you, there's sufficient flow length. around the circle. We've worked on a plan, traffic flow plan, for the school. We have a drop-off area and there's I mean, you can stagger
plenty of stacking on site that you would never be on Sunset or 41 backing up based on the queue. HEARING MASTER: Okay. In terms of flow -- I
mean, if you've got the Conceptual Site Plan, if you can sort of walk me around how the circulation would work. Maybe use the Elmo. Sort of trace how
cars come in, how they drop off and how they leave the site. MR. MENDEZ: What you see above is the Traffic
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Flow Plan. HEARING MASTER: assist you. MR. HENRY Good afternoon. Steve Henry, Links Perhaps Mr. Henry could
& Associates, 5023 West Laurel, Tampa 33607. This is the actual -- as you saw in the zoning conditions, there's a requirement to have a Circulation Plan. submitted. This actually has been
It's a conceptual, but this will be
actually formalized during the approval process. This kind of gives you an idea of the actual circulation and how it will work. You've got the
access, as Mr. Mineer had said, on U.S. 41, and it's got the driveway that runs up to here. then -HEARING MASTER: MR. HENRY: both in and out. Is it a two-way street? It allows You
It's a two-way, yes. You come here.
You'll then turn
right and go around the circle, and the drop-off is at this point right here. If you come in from Sunset, you come in here, you turn right and you come around the circle and drop off. Then as you're leaving, if you want to
go back to 41, you drop off, you continue this way. If you want to go to Sunset, you come down here and
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drop off. HEARING MASTER: MR. HENRY: Okay.
So the distance more than provides
sufficient queuing for both people coming in from U.S. 41 and from Sunset. In addition to that, we're also putting a left-turn lane on Sunset into the site and a right-turn lane on Sunset into the site. Not only
do we have enough queuing on-site to accommodate that, but we also have turn lanes on Sunset to get the traffic out of the through lanes. HEARING MASTER: Okay. If you've looked at
this and taken a look at project traffic distribution, do you generally know from which direction cars are coming and which direction cars are going in the a.m. and p.m.? What percent of
cars will use 41, what percent of cars will use Sunset Lane? MR. HENRY: We generally looked at the, you
know, the current enrollment at the Learning Gate today and then kind of use that in population areas to estimate what that distribution may be. Obviously, it's an estimate. And what we were
looking at is about 25 percent of the students would be to and from the east, about 35 percent to
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and from the north, and about 40 percent to and from the south. And then based on that, then we looked at the distribution as to whether they use the U.S. 41 access, the Sunset access, and sizing the turn lanes accordingly. HEARING MASTER: Okay. And your eastbound and
northbound turn lane on Sunset Lane is a sufficient length to accommodate anticipated traffic turning into the property? MR. HENRY: The length is not long enough, but
what is, when it queues -- and we've monitored this during the a.m. peak hour. clear every cycle. The queue actually does
The turn lane, because of
constraints of right-of-way, and you've got the TECO substation there, that turn lane is not long enough to accommodate the full queue as you'd normally have. But the queue does clear every So we've looked at
cycle, from that standpoint. that.
One of things that was mentioned earlier -and I'll be glad to show you -- what we have done to help mitigate the impact of the project is, based on the counts up there, the a.m. peak hour occurs from 7:15 to 8:15. That's the peak hour of
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the intersection of U.S. 41 and Sunset.
If you'll
see here, the first -- 12th grade is arriving at 8:15. Then what we've done is, in addition to not
only getting those people out of the peak hour, we have also staggered the hours so that every grade comes a 15-minute period. So, what we've done is
we've spread that out over an hour. As a normal school, if it were 8:15, everybody gets there 15 minutes prior to. What this does, it
spreads it out over that hour, and also outside the peak hour. In addition, the p.m. peak hour occurs from 5:00 to 6:00, so what we've done there is, when you look at the dismissals, they start at 3:45; they end at 4:30. So, what we've done is be able to
take the school and take both the arrival and dismissals outside the peak hours. HEARING MASTER: Okay. Thank you.
I have a question about the process of the school, about if you -- the day you start construction, how many children do you anticipate to have in the beginning? And as the school grows,
how many children do you think you'll have? I know you've asked for a maximum of a thousand children, but how does that goal -- how do
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you get there? MS. GIRARD: Right. When we first occupy the
site, there will be 350 children there, approximately. of my head. I'm trying to remember off the top
Anyway, we won't get to full capacity
until probably five or six years. Because we'll only grow -- we won't add to our graduating class and we'll just move on. So,
actually the first year that we're there we will not have any 12th graders, and the second year that we're there we won't have more than 25. Because we
have about that many in our 9th grade now. HEARING MASTER: MS. GIRARD: Okay.
Another point, too, with our kids We will
that can drive in 11th and 12th grade.
also be having internships, so probably 20 to 25 percent of our kids will be off-campus every day, one of those days. It won't be the same, but it And they'll be off
will be staggered within that.
for the whole day, so they won't even be on property. HEARING MASTER: Okay. Thank you, ma'am.
Mr. Mineer, does that conclude your Application testimony in chief? MR. MINEER: Yes, sir.
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Just one last point.
The great thing about
this project is it's got the best of both the public school and a private school. It's a
fully-approved charter school that is approved and validated by the Hillsborough County school system as well as the state, feds, whatever. It's a private school also. And Ms. Patti is
the principal, and she can control when things happen, so it's not like a public school where it's kind of just out there. And the best thing is, no stadiums. It's a
high school, probably the first high school with no stadium, and so that -- there is no evening impacts like one would normally expect with a high school stadium. HEARING MASTER: Just to -- there was Would
testimony I heard earlier about Nye Park. you clarify that?
I know you showed on the Site I
Plan, you're showing pedestrian cross-access.
understand the "no stadium" issue, but in terms of exercise for kids, is there -- are you hoping to have that park available for at least playground activities? MS. GIRARD: Yes, yes. Mainly, we want to use
that for our -- if we have physical education,
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which might be soccer, baseball, you know. basketball courts.
There's
We would love to be able to
refurbish it and keep it up for the County so they can use it. HEARING MASTER: ma'am. At this point in time, Development Services Staff. MS. ALBERT: Thank you. Good evening. All right. Thank you,
Isabelle Albert, Development Services. This request is to allow a middle and high charter school for the Learning Gate Academy, with a maximum of 1,000 students. The school will have a concentration in arts, agriculture, environmental studies, and science. Approximately a third of the site is comprised of wetland, and the characteristics of the site were attractive to the academy due to their teaching curriculum. The Applicant is proposing to have the educational buildings north of the roundabout that's found on the Site Plan, where each would be a maximum of approximately 25,000 square feet. Each building would be used for different uses ranging from an arts studio, agricultural and
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animal barns, greenhouse, fieldhouse, schoolrooms, and administrative offices. One structure is proposed south of the roundabout. field. This site does not include a sports
And the maximum square footage being
proposed is 180,000 square feet, with a floor area ratio of 0.11. The Site Plan shows wetland impacts. However,
EPC reviewed the request and met with the Applicant prior to the Special Use Application submission. Per the EPC Comment Sheet dated April 20th, 2012, the director of EPC has conceptually authorized these impacts. The site will be accessed by two accesses. One is being proposed on U.S. Highway 41, and neither Transportation Staff nor Florida Department of Transportation Staff have any objections. The U.S. Highway 41 currently has a southbound left-turn lane to the site. The other access is Operational and
being proposed on Sunset Lane.
safety improvements will be required for the Sunset Lane access. Without these improvements, impact
from this development will cause Sunset Lane to operate at an unacceptable level of service and be unsafe.
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Transportation Staff, Charles White, will be available if you have any questions regarding the transportation clarifications. Tampa Bay Water Agency had no objection. Their report indicated that the western portion of the site is located within the Northwest Hillsborough Wellhead Resource protection Area Zone 2. And I do have here a map so it will be easier
for me to explain where it is located. HEARING MASTER: MS. ALBERT: Sure.
And Tampa Bay Water did recommend
that the site be served with public wastewater services. If not, septic tanks system should be
constructed outside of this area. I've attempted to just sort of draw where the school is going to be located, with the access. And the majority of the buildings proposed from the plan is located on this area that's outside of the area. I'll leave this for you for your review. HEARING MASTER: MS. ALBERT: Thank you.
The Applicant did propose some
conditions that were discussed and negotiated with the surrounding neighbors. Staff reviewed these
conditions and found that not all were zoning conditions, nor could they be enforced through the
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Special Use approval.
The ones that could be
incorporated were included. Other proposed conditions with regard to site development: The site shall be developed per the
Land Development Code requirement, and waivers to these requirements, if requested, shall be done so in a separate process. Staff does find this request to be consistent and compatible with the area and we do find this approvable, subject to these conditions. you. HEARING MASTER: With regard to the conditions Thank
that are proposed, Condition Number 2, if I can get you to take a look at that condition. MS. ALBERT: Condition Number 2 that were
proposed and not in my Staff report? HEARING MASTER: Recommended condition that's
in your Staff report, Condition Number 2. MS. ALBERT: The buffering and screening? Yes. You talk about, "which
HEARING MASTER:
provides --" the bottom part of that condition. "Which provides enhanced buffers and landscaping around Sunward Lake subdivision." MS. ALBERT: Correct. That is found on the
Site Plan -- if I go into the --
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HEARING MASTER: the site surrounds? MS. ALBERT: moment, please.
That's the subdivision that
Correct.
Let me show you.
One
This one right here.
And the Site
Plan shows this potential enhanced landscaping proposed here. HEARING MASTER: about that area. MS. ALBERT: The whole area also that's -- the Okay. And you're talking
hatched area, that's all going to remain in the natural state. Usually a school like that, the Code requires a 10-foot buffer with a Type-A screening. They're
proposing approximately at least 50 feet, and some 100 feet. HEARING MASTER: Okay. And it's also
additional, at least setback or buffer area or natural area being maintained in additional locations around the perimeter of the site? MS. ALBERT: Everywhere where it shows that, They're
that hatch, is where they're proposing it.
proposing it here, here, around the residents. Along the lake frontage. with the neighbors. That was a negotiation
Along the lake frontage and
around here as well, which is where the residents
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are here. here.
This is the wetland areas.
And then
So you will find it mostly around --
surrounding the property. HEARING MASTER: gears a little bit. Okay. And then switching
Condition Number 6, if I could
get you to take a look at that condition. MS. ALBERT: Yes. "The Applicant shall be I would suggest "The Applicant
HEARING MASTER:
permitted one access to U.S. 41." that that may be a requirement.
shall be required to have an access to U.S. 41." MS. ALBERT: I could -- yes. I mean, they do
need that access for -- I could change that. HEARING MASTER: All right. Somehow, I'd like
to, if we could, in Condition Number 6, incorporate a statement about that, "The Applicant will have to provide proof of an Easement Applicant Agreement with the adjacent property owner." MS. ALBERT: Okay. And describe the width of the The
HEARING MASTER:
service drive or driveway into the school.
Applicant's testimony was that it was 50 feet. MS. ALBERT: So, just proof that they have an
access easement, and the description of the wetland -- the width.
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HEARING MASTER: MS. ALBERT:
Right.
I would like to make sure that
they can provide that information to me. HEARING MASTER: MS. ALBERT: Yes, absolutely.
They can confirm. All right. Thank you. That's all I have
HEARING MASTER: at this point in time.
Planning Commission Staff. MS. STENMARK: Commission Staff. The subject property is located in both the Residential-2 and Residential-6 Future Land Use Category. It's also within the rural area and the Marcie Stenmark, Planning
Lutz Community Plan boundary. The proposed use of a school is allowable within the Residential-2 and Residential-6 Future Land Use Categories. The submitted Site Plan
provides for development that is sensitive to surrounding residential uses. Buildings are placed
internal to the subject site, and there's a cap on the maximum square footage of each individual building. The submitted Site Plan has also provided additional buffering and screening above Code minimums and has allowed for a lot of land to be
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left in its natural state. To gain access to U.S. Highway 41, it has been noted for the record tonight that the Applicant is proposing -- it's going to impact some wetlands basically, and the Applicant has worked with the EPC to get conceptual authorization. Final
authorization would have to be provided in order for that to occur. The submitted Site Plan provides for pedestrian cross-access to adjacent Nye Park, and pedestrian connection points between parks and schools are encouraged by the Comprehensive Plan. Though the Applicant is providing or proposing a private middle and high school, the Applicant has provided for a Site Plan that offers access to a four-lane roadway, which is supported by the Lutz Community Plan. Based on these considerations, Planning Commission Staff found the proposed Special Use consistent with the Future of Hillsborough Comprehensive Plan, subject to the conditions proposed by Development Services. HEARING MASTER: Okay. Thank you.
At this point in time, is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak in support of the
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Application? Please come forward. in line. MS. ROBITAILLE: so this is new. HEARING MASTER: MS. ROBITAILLE: Okay. My name is Yvette Robitaille, I've never done this before, Ma'am, you're the first
and I live on Yocam Avenue on one of the bordering streets. I'd like to thank you. And I'm going to
read this so I don't lose track. HEARING MASTER: MS. ROBITAILLE: Okay. I'd like to thank you for
allowing me the opportunity to speak in favor of Learning Gate Charter School. My husband, five children and I moved into the Yocam neighborhood in 2003. The biggest reason we
selected this neighborhood was for Nye Park, the canal behind our house that led to a small lake, and the woods across the street. For the past nine
years our family has enjoyed the park and the canal, but we have also enjoyed taking walks in the woods. Over the years, my husband, children and I have helped to keep the woods clean by collecting trash left by others. Most of our children are
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grown now and it's going to become more difficult for my husband and me to continue to keep the woods clean for the wildlife and others who enjoy the serenity of nature. I would be honored to have Learning Gate Charter School build their nature-friendly facility on this property. This school promotes social and
cultural responsibility, and the students who attend are not typical teenagers who are interested in football games, cheerleading, marching band and drag racing. The students who attend Learning Gate are focused on science and learning. They will keep
the property clean and in harmony with the beautiful woods, in the Lutz tradition. My concern is that if this school is prohibited from building, a developer will come in and subdivide the plot of land. This will destroy
the nature -- natural habitat, which is the reason most of us moved here in the first place. My neighbors have expressed concerns about the increased traffic. Yes, there will be increased
traffic, but it would be mostly on Highway 41 which can manage the volume. Additionally, it will only be twice a day for
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approximately 30 to 45 minutes for 10 months out of the year. This school will not have evening
ballgames or programs, with the odd exception of Conference Night a few times per year. My neighbors have also expressed concerns about the wetlands. I know that flows can be I also know that
diverted to mitigate the issues.
developers with deep pockets will pay much less attention to the needs of the wetlands than the nature-minded folks with Learning Gate. You already know about the awards this school has worked hard to earn to prove that they respect the environment. I do not know very many builders
who will go to that extreme to work with nature as this school will do. My neighbors have mentioned that they are concerned that the students will skip school and burglarize their houses. I cannot say this will
not happen, but I will say the chances of it happening are very small, considering the type of students that this school attracts. Parents who send their children to Learning Gate are required to volunteer in the school. is not an option. It
The parents of these children
are upstanding citizens and take great care and
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concern with their children, as evidence of sending them to this charter school and making the deep commitment to driving them to and from school each day and devoting time to the school and their child's education. I have an additional concern that if the school is disallowed Lutz will end up with another eyesore of a partially developed area, like the piece of land on Livingston and Max Smith Road. This Livingston property was denied a school site and was sold for single-family homes. That
property now sits empty, with infrastructure and weeds. I would hope the people of Lutz could learn from prior error in judgment. Learning Gate is
like no other in the state and it attracts the best of the best when it comes to the environment. There are no guarantees in this world, but there are successive approximations to excellence, and this school attracts and promotes environmental excellence and civic responsibility. In my opinion, the benefits of the school outweigh the liabilities. I would be delighted to
live across the street from Learning Gate Charter School, and will be able to purchase organic
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vegetables and eggs as a result of their learning efforts. Thank you for your time. Okay. Thank you, ma'am.
HEARING MASTER: MR. GRADY:
Ma'am, you need to sign in. I'm sorry. Okay. Next, please. Jay Muffly, 102
MS. ROBITAILLE: HEARING MASTER: MR. MUFFLY:
Good evening.
5th Avenue Southeast, beautiful downtown Lutz. I'm on the Board of the Lutz Civic Association. We do find this Application
approvable, but we have severe concerns about proper drainage of the wetlands. Because if the
road is not constructed properly and all the proper drainage is not provided and the connections are not provided, the neighbors and Sunset Lane will flood. They have in the past and they will again.
Transportation says that they require a road to be above a certain level above the high water, but you have to have good flow. And we have seen
examples in Lutz before where roads have been constructed without the proper flow underneath them. The other major concern that we have is with Sunset Lane. We ask that they severely restrict
the number of people going in and out of the access
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on Sunset Lane and use U.S. 41.
Lutz Elementary
School -- I live next door to Lutz Elementary School, so I'm going to switch. I'm going to get
off LCA now and speak for Jay Muffly. I live next door to Lutz Elementary School. Their traffic backs up four blocks. 750 students. They have over
And Transportation has assured me
that this roadway will accept their stacking. HEARING MASTER: MR. MUFFLY: Okay.
But I do like the idea that Lutz In the
they're going to stack their hours. Elementary is done by 10 after 8:00.
afternoon, they're done at a quarter after 2:00. So, that's just a footnote. HEARING MASTER: MR. MUFFLY: Right.
Thank you. Got it. Thank you, sir.
HEARING MASTER: Next, please. MR. STOY: Lutz.
Ron Stoy, 907 Tomlinson Drive in
It's about a quarter mile east of the
proposed entrance. I've lived there for 33 years and feel like I know my community quite well in that area. Previously, I have been a Board member of the Civic Association back when things were -- when things
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were necessary for a huge amount of the population of the community to get involved; that being when the Hillsborough County School Board first wanted to propose a high school in Lutz back in '95. My purpose today -- I'm no longer a Board member. I still am a member of the Civic I really would just like to offer a As I said, the School Board
Association.
continuity here.
wanted to put what I'll call a "megaschool," 2,500 to 3,000 student school, 80 acres with stadiums, et cetera, on one of our back roads. And this just
didn't set well with the people of Lutz, and we filled auditorium after auditorium, and this room countless nights for many years as we hashed this through, and finally got the School Board to work with the Planning Commission as far as siting schools. The rule was that the School Board could put it anywhere anytime they felt like it, and then everybody else had to provide schools and infrastructure -- excuse me -- roads and infrastructure and the whole deal. plan. Well, the Civic Association, which really was reborn because of this concern, didn't want to be Now it's all by
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the anti-high school group, so at that time we put together our own vision of what a high school should be in Lutz, given the unique nature of our community, being that we are an alternative lifestyle to the rest of the county in many ways. And the Civic Association members voted unanimously to support that alternate vision for a high school. Ultimately that language found itself That plan is It's been
embodied in our Lutz Community Plan. now 10 years old, 10 plus years old.
renewed, with very little fanfare and it's been widely accepted as a good document. Many of us in the Civic Association have met with Patti and group, and one of the overriding absolutes that we said we must have in order to have our support was access off of 41. primary access. And then knowing that any school like this requires two entrances, being that Sunset Lane is the only corridor or feeder road, there's really no alternative. You can't put it on any of the other That was
roads, so it has to be there, and they're both right there. But the concern is, you know, exactly what does "primary" and "secondary" mean as far as
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percentages?
Once this thing gets rolling, does it
mean that, as water flows, anybody's going to be able to go wherever they want at any time? And
that's really a very strong concern moving forward. So, I'll defer on the environmental issue, but I really do want to stay focused on this traffic issue, particularly on Sunset Lane. I feel
strongly that the amount of usage of this entrance on Sunset has to be quantified. It has to be
measurable in the sense of "X" number of passes or "X" number of parking spots that are allowed that way. And ultimately it has to be enforceable. And
the enforcement should not fall back on -- should not be the onus of the community, but rather needs to remain with the school. So, if we can effectively control and limit, measure, enforce the access off of Sunset, I think we've got a really good situation here and it would certainly meet my support. If not, however, if the language about access off of Sunset remains nebulous, it would lose my support. So this, to me, is the key. What's going
to happen on Sunset Lane?
How do we measure who
comes and goes, how many, how often, et cetera?
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So, that's it. HEARING MASTER: Next, please. KOEHLER MACHLIS: Machlis. SHAE MACHLIS: brother. KOEHLER MACHLIS: Trinity, Florida 34655. I'm not sure if you've noticed already, but Gates is not a regular school. live in Pasco County. My brother and I 2141 Flameflower Court, And I'm Shae Machlis, his Good afternoon. Koehler Very good. Thank you, sir.
We don't even live in
Hillsborough, but we enjoy -- we really do enjoy Gates. We went to a charter school in Pasco County
for a year and there was something about it that we didn't like. Our parents are very strict actually about where we go, and even that charter school was not good enough. When we found Learning Gate, we were The ecofriendliness of it all,
just so impressed.
and it really was just a dream come true rather than home-schooling or virtual school. But in my eighth grade, and Shae's seventh grade, when they made PBL, this fun, interactive, innovative way of learning and pretty much teaching
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yourself -- I'm sure you know what Epcot is. it's pretty much doing that in a school.
But
Learning -- you can really do whatever you want with it. wonderful. Now I am in ninth grade in Gates. And at And with that, it has just been
first we didn't think they were going to make a high school. They were kind of iffy about it, and
I was just going to go to a virtual school because there really was no other possible opportunity for me to stay out of the three big things that I'm not allowed to get near: Drugs, fights, and sex.
Many high schools seem to have that pattern. Like Gaither. Many people might be thinking that Well, the
another Gaither is being put out.
closest thing we have to drugs in Gates are people sneaking in little cups of coffee. The closest thing that we have to fights is the occasional arm wrestle, which I'm not pretty bad at. And the closest thing we have to sex is really just an occasional high-five here and there. And
really, because of that, I am allowed to stay at a friendly -- ecofriendly school where there are so many possibilities that could happen.
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SHAE MACHLIS: Koehler.
Yes.
That was well put,
I'd just like to add onto that. Gate, it's a bit different.
Learning
It's quite the
community that you wouldn't expect from a high school, and there's just a certain aspect to it of interacting with the teachers, the class size, the students, you know -- they just -- it all fits together nicely. And it's something that you don't Or I mean, that's what
see from many high schools. I know.
I've been going to Gates for three years now, and I loved every minute of it. friends, they feel the same way. can't describe it. I know a lot of my I just -- I just
But the teachers there, they And the students,
just know how to work with you.
they work back well with the teachers. And it creates this community that just works really well and it's a beautiful thing. Because And
you're learning things and you're having fun.
this new site looks like it will just, you know, expound upon that exponentially, and the Learning Gate community itself would just flourish into something even bigger that I think we can all appreciate. Thank you.
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HEARING MASTER: MR. MINEER: people.
Thank you.
We still have several other
I did not realize the depth of the Could we ask for a few more minutes,
presentation. or are we --
HEARING MASTER:
How many other folks are in
the audience that wish to speak in support? MR. MINEER: Well, at the very least, a lot of
people aren't going to necessarily speak, but if they could stand and show their support. HEARING MASTER: Let the record reflect that Is that fair enough, a
there's 50 people, roughly. fair assessment? MR. MINEER: Yes, sir.
Thank you.
HEARING MASTER: MR. MINEER:
Stood up in support.
But I guess we're looking at
probably maybe two, three more people speaking, if that's okay. HEARING MASTER: MR. MINEER: MR. PIERCE: Yeah, that's fine.
Thank you, sir. My name is Greg Pierce. I live
on Vandervort Road, 1927, in Lutz, Florida 33549. I believe I need to be sworn in. HEARING MASTER: Okay.
(Oath administered at this time.)
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MR. PIERCE:
So, I've lived in Lutz for seven
years, and I moved there so my kids could go to Learning Gate. I think it's important that you understand what an amazing school it is. It's a place where,
like you've heard already, it's nationally recognized. environment. It's really in sync with the And the kids that go there really
want to be there. And you know that because the parents have to volunteer. The parents have to spend time in So it's not a school
parenting classes as well.
where the kids are just dropped off and forget it and they move on. It's a place where people really
feel in touch with the community. And I've heard some talk about, you know, in an average school what the traffic patterns look like and what the water usage looks like. isn't an average school. The reason I know that is KP duty is usually something people don't want to do, right? And my This
son gets excited about it, because they have compost piles as opposed to just regular garbage. So he gets to go with his friends over to the compost pile and drop things, and they probably
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horse around in the garden a little bit while they're over there. do. Those sort of things show me that this is the sort of school that's not going to have an adverse impact. In fact, it will raise property values But it's an exciting thing to
because people want to move to the community to be in a school like this. And it's a school that's shown time and time again that they really want to work with the environment, and not against it, and make sure that things are fluid. this school. HEARING MASTER: Thank you, sir. Is there So, I hope that you'll support
anyone else in the audience that wishes to speak in support? MS. KRUCK: Good evening. Colleen Kruck,
18518 Sunward Lake Place, Lutz. I actually live in Sunset Manor, which is that subdivision that you see completely surrounded by the school. household. I'm here tonight representing the Not everybody in my community and my
subdivision agrees with me, but I want to point out some information that I know about this that hasn't been mentioned tonight.
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Basically, I've lived at my house for 19 years, and I know what the property consists of that Learning Gate is proposing to purchase. I've
had an opportunity to see what's on that property, and as a result of that I nominated the property for purchase by the County under its ELAP program. This property was evaluated by the ecologists that work for the County Staff and it was rated as exceptional relative to habitat, and basically everything that it has on the property with wildlife, birds, et cetera. One of the things that came out that was very clear is that it was going to be an addition to Nye Park, and it would have been an additional asset to Nye Park. We maybe would have had some walking
paths and been able to walk dogs, et cetera, and it would have connected to downtown Lutz. The County pursued acquisition of that property and they were not successful because they couldn't afford to pay the price that was wanted for the property. it. There's nothing we can do about
It couldn't be purchased. Preservation is my primary thing. If this
gets allowed to be developed as residential, likely what will happen is someone will come in and they
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will clear-cut everything that I see right now and there will be no restrictions on them. They will
be able to build as many houses as they can within zoning restrictions. They'll be able to put up
man-made landscape; they'll be able to put up fences, and everything that I've watched all these years will change. The alternative is the school. The biggest It's
problem with this proposal is the traffic. not the school.
I'm not naive enough to think that
that property is going to stay like that forever and never be developed, and I think that this school is a better alternative than having everything clear-cut and having other bad runoff run into the wetlands. The County needs to be responsible for whatever traffic issues have to be addressed here. If there's a problem at Sunset and 41, then we need the County to help the community and to make sure that we're still safe. If the County needs to restrict the number of students in this school and phase it in until you can afford to make the improvements that you need to make on those roads, then that's the way this recommendation needs to be worded.
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She's asking for a thousand students.
I think
in the long run she could probably handle it, based on what she's been describing with me and what we've been talking about. But the roads will have
to be improved and they will have to be safe, and the traffic will have to be handled and the County will have to be willing to do that and work with the school. I think the school will be an asset to Lutz, and I think it's an important thing that we need to consider. But we can't just allow the traffic to If
go on the roads the way they are right now.
you're going to approve this school, there needs to be a plan, and maybe that plan needs to be phased in as her school grows. HEARING MASTER: Thank you. Is there I see
Thank you, ma'am.
anyone else who wishes to speak in support? no one responding.
At this point in time, is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak in opposition? Yes. MS. HOHENTHANER: Good evening. My name is
Shawn Hoenthaner, 18854 Tracer Drive, Lutz, Florida. HEARING MASTER: Okay.
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MS. HOHENTHANER:
And I'm going to talk really
quickly because I don't want to take a lot of time. I'm here today opposing the construction of Learning Gate Middle High school. I'm a proud I'm well
public high school assistant principal.
aware of the impact a school of this size will have on the community. The high school I work in was a part of a planned subdivision. The communities near and
around Sunset are not planned communities, created with the knowledge that a future school would be built, with property set aside and future roadways already designed to adequately manage traffic flow. What you're trying to do is fit a square peg into a round hole. Forcing that square peg will
have an adverse effect on the community with regard to the delicate wetlands environment, water usage, and traffic flow. I'm here to share what an impact on a school this size will have with regard to water usage. And I am at a school that's considered Green. A thousand students flush toilets on the average of 1,680 times per day, at a low flow
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gallon flush of two gallons per flush.
That
equates to 3,360 gallons of water per day, 16,800 gallons per week, and 604,800 gallons of water per school calendar. Let's say 700 students actually choose to wash their hands after using the restroom, at a conservative .5 gallons per wash. That's 350
gallons per day, 1,750 gallons per week, and 63,000 gallons per school year. The average school cafeteria uses 600 gallons per week and 18,000 gallons per year. This is used
to fill warmers, wash dishes, clean floors, and mop and clean off tables. These examples do not cover
all water usage, but certainly can paint a picture. Total water usage is 775,000 gallons. I heard that the school will be using an existing well field, but water usage is water usage. aquifer. It only comes from one place: Our
There is a prevalence of sinkholes in
Lutz, and this is a direct result of ground collapse due to water level change by way of water extraction or drought, per SWFMD. A 2008 Hillsborough County record shows a confirmed 275 sinkholes in Lutz, with 56 of those in the Sunset area.
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Being a Lutz native from a family with nearly a century rooted here, I have a vested interest in beautiful downtown Lutz continuing to thrive. Much
of Lutz has remained intact, including the series of fragile lakes and canals that connect through several communities and the array of wildlife that they support. The use of 775,800 gallons of
potable water could have a profound effect on the balance of wildlife. We could see our canals dry We could see our lakes
or significantly lowered.
diminished, and with this comes diminished wildlife, and ultimately diminished property values. I am sure that there will be an answer or solution for everything that I've stated here, but the only sure thing is that water will be used at a level this community has never seen or supported, and that will certainly have some negative consequence on the community. I saw that Learning Gate will have one of their academic foci on environment studies. consider this as your first lesson: That a Please
facility such as Learning Gate will have an adverse effect on the environment with regard to potable water use.
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I hope that the request for the construction of this school will be denied and a lesson will have been learned for everyone. HEARING MASTER: Thank you. All right.
Thank you, ma'am.
The next person who wishes to speak in opposition. Yes, sir. MR. WHITE: White. Good evening. My name is James
I live at 18401 Autumn Mist Drive, Lutz,
Florida 33549. I'm here today to express my vehement opposition to granting a Special Use Permit for the Learning Gate Middle and High School. Though I
share my neighbors' other concerns, my primary concern is the projected significant traffic increase on Sunset Lane. According to their Traffic Study submitted, Sunset Lane, the entrance on 41 may be being called the main entrance, but according to their statistics, there's actually going to be more in-and-out traffic off of the Sunset entrance. I've been a professional firefighter paramedic for almost 35 years, and I know danger when I see it. I've also learned that it's much better to There are many
prevent it, if possible.
alternative sites in the Lutz area that are much
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more appropriate and less negatively impactful as this one. This one is a recipe for disaster and
completely avoidable. Sunset Lane is a rural two-lane road which has already been designated by Hillsborough County as a constrained road which has for some time been operating beyond its design capacity, and which cannot be widened nor significantly improved. By their own traffic projections submitted to you, Learning Gate will add a projected total of 2,517 trip ends daily. Learning Gate Sunset Lane
entrance will increase traffic on Sunset Lane by 38.2 percent during peak hours and peak season. Now, combined with the traffic from Lutz Learning Center Day Care, the increase from existing traffic to projected peak hour, peak season is 60 percent. Learning Gate's proposed Sunset entrance is directly north from the Lutz Learning Center Day Care's driveway. Two months ago Lutz Learning
Center increased their student capacity by 60 percent without adding an additional parking lot, parking space or additional driveway. This has
resulted in traffic congestion and parking nightmares several times per day. This school
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complex will only exacerbate that problem. According to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office records, there have been 31 accidents on Sunset Lane in the last year. Sunset is a two-lane
road which is barely three miles in length and has only three significant intersections. Sunset Lane
also serves as the main running street for fire, EMS and law enforcement from both stations serving Lutz east of U.S. 41. To increase its traffic load
will result in longer response times and increased danger to residents and motorists, as well as that of responding emergency personnel. The impact of this project -- The impact that this project will have on the Sunset Lane community is in fact in direct conflict with the nature and intent of the Lutz Community Plan to keep our community, the Lutz -- the Sunset Lane community a quiet rural one, with planned development in the downtown area so as not to impact our areas in this manner. HEARING MASTER: MR. WHITE: Okay. Thank you, sir.
If I may, there was a recognition
of how many people were here in support of this. HEARING MASTER: MR. WHITE: Yes.
May I please call for the
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opposite, please? HEARING MASTER: MR. WHITE: Absolutely.
Let your voice be heard. Let the record reflect that
HEARING MASTER:
there's -- that's a fair assessment, but there's 60 or so people here in opposition. MR. WHITE: difference. Sir, these people -- there's one
And no one I've talked to has a I've heard However, these
problem with the school itself.
excellent things about the school.
are the people that are impacted by this. The people at the school, they live elsewhere in the County. to battle this. impacted. We're the ones every day that has These people right here are
Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Mary Masher, 1004 Sunset
HEARING MASTER: MS. MASHER: Lane.
Hello.
First off, I did not know you could use a public park for private use. you're not allowed to. I have a two-year-old. As of right now,
I use the park every day. We walk down there from the I
house I built four years ago on Lake Keene.
would not have built it if I knew this was coming. I would have built elsewhere.
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There's a crosswalk about .1 miles from my house. Never. I look at it every day. Nobody stops.
My child's almost been hit by a car twice
because cars aren't paying attention, and they swerve this way and then they swerve into my yard where my child is out front with me trying to get in the car. And the impact of 16-year-olds,
17-year-olds driving down that road is not going to make it any better. Living on the lake puts me -- it puts my lake in severe jeopardy due to the run-off into the water, due to the usage of the water. environmental chemist. University of Tampa. I am an
I did graduate from the I know a lot about water. Therefore,
There is no city water, as we all know.
all the water that will be used eventually will come from my lake and other peoples' lakes that are right there. And what happens when the water's gone? Do I
have to move because there's no more water because Learning Gate took it off? not get to grow up? HEARING MASTER: please. MRS. McGEE: Hello. This is Mr. Gilbert Does my two-year-old
Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Next,
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McGee, and I'm Mrs. Betty McGee.
And we live at
18516 Sunward Lake Place, Lutz, Florida. We respect and support all concerns about the traffic impact on Sunset Lane and the Lutz community as a whole. Also agree with the water.
Gil and I have been residents of Sunset Manor for 22 years. Our house backs up to a landscape of Water
magnificent trees and a marsh lake. year-round.
Imagine standing in my backyard early
morning and seeing deer, redtail hawks, numerous species of wildlife and birds starting their day. This unique location in Lutz has an abundance of wildlife, and I don't want to see it destroyed. Now picture stacked cars on a two-lane road and a dirt bridge going around and through the pristine forest and that marsh lake in back of my home that I've enjoyed all these years. oil and gas spills, road run-off, exhaust pollution, noise pollution, and of course litter. Litter floating in the water that will take all of this away. And if you want proof of that, just ride along some of our public roads and you'll see the litter. Because the high school -- because the high Imagine
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school's main entrance road will be only 100 feet from my property line, it will drastically affect Gil and my quality of life and jeopardize our health due to the continual exhaust and noise pollution, plus the stress this is causing myself and my husband. I greatly appreciate Patti Girard. her school. I respect her. I respect
And I have -- and
especially I appreciate Patti Girard working closely with Sunset Manor's representative, Colleen Kirk. They've worked very hard and very diligent
to lower the school's impact to my home and my neighbors. But I feel that a thousand-student
school's environmental damage footprint in the marsh lake and the woodlands, and the resulting traffic congestion, would destroy the Lutz rural community and, again, my and my husband's quality of life and my surrounding neighbors. Especially
on the part where they're going to run a road right through that lake. I want to know how would the County address this, and how we'll protect myself and my husband? I would also like to point out that Learning Gate's own mission statement on their website today, "Environmentally responsible,"
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responsibility.
I question how can they make this
promise when Gates school is so willing to destroy pristine wetlands and wildlife? Thank you very much for your time, and I appreciate all the time. HEARING MASTER: speak in opposition. MS. SCHUELLER: My name is Lisa Schueller. I The next person who wishes to
reside at 18510 Sunward Lake Place in Lutz, Sunset Manor. Many of these people are my neighbors.
I have been to several of the hometown meetings that Patti Girard has put on, and while they have been greatly appreciated, what we hear from one meeting to the next has been very different. The first meeting that we went to we were told that the access on Sunset was going to be for emergency vehicles and faculty only. We were also
told that the parking lot that nobody wanted to give you a number on today is for 270 parking spaces. Now today one of their representatives tells us that it's going to be a roundabout that's going to be able to come through Sunset Lane and up through and drop their students off. This was our
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main concern, and continues to be our concern. I drive -- I have lived in Lutz since 1992. have owned four homes in Lutz. favorite location. Lutz. This by far is our I
It is -- my son grew up in He played What this does to
He's 23 years old today. He played football.
baseball.
the community is it rips us apart, okay. I have no problem with Patti Girard and her school. I think the concept is great. My concern
is the access on Sunset. an answer for that.
The County has to provide
It cannot be left to them.
That has got to be limited access. Unfortunately, if the County doesn't get involved and that access is not limited, I'm afraid somewhere somebody is going to get scraped off the road. Thank you. HEARING MASTER: Thank you. Anyone else who That chime is
wishes to speak in opposition?
telling me that there's 15 minutes have been used up. How many more people wish to speak in Seven roughly. All right. I'll allow
opposition?
you all to speak, but please keep in mind what your previous speakers already said and put on the record. Please try not to repeat testimony that's
already been given.
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At this point in time, the next person, please. Good evening. My name is Gwynn Hassinger.
MS. HASSINGER:
I'm a resident of Hillsborough County -MR. GRADY: Ma'am, could you move the
microphone a little closer so they can pick it up. MS. HASSINGER: MR. GRADY: Closer to me?
Thank you. I'm a resident of Hillsborough
MS. HASSINGER:
County since 1974, a resident of Lutz since 1982. This school was named a Green Ribbon school that honors environmental excellence. That program
recognizes a school for these things: Environmental excellence, saving energy, reducing costs, featuring environmentally sustainable learning space, protecting health, fosters wellness, offers environmental education to boost academic achievement and to boost community engagement. right now. Learning Gate is planning several buildings as their school. This takes up a specific large Well, this community is very engaged
footprint when it is spread over an area rather than one single tall building taking up a specific small footprint. Several buildings would use more
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energy and security lights, et cetera, rather than one building. To alter native wetlands and change the drainage patterns from their natural course to drain centrally and down to Sunset Road straight to Lake Stemper increases the water density to flood plain levels beyond what they are now. This would
create a flooding hazard to our property and all the properties to the south of this school site. How does this protect health, foster wellness and environmental education? This is the same for the inverse, when there are drought conditions, which we're going into right now. The usage of water by a thousand
students, with two additional parents, family members and guests, is well over 3,000 people in an environmental area pulling on the water. We have already suffered with our well going dry, and a new well that we put in that cost over $10,000, along with a new septic system lift station and drain field that cost over $6,000. this happens again, will Learning Gate or the members of the Zoning Board step up to the plate and reimburse us for any future loss perpetuated upon us by Learning Gate by allowing this project If
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to move ahead? Will you give us a new well if it goes dry? Will you give us a new house if it floods? The effluent of students, people and barn animals will be heading straight for us, along with disease, illness and a specific lack of environmental excellence. This could change the
benchmark for flood insurance. For Learning Gate to maintain their Green Ribbon status they need to not build this project in a wetland. They need to -- even the federal
government has given them this status of award. Maybe they should be notified of this school's deliberate actions to go against everything that they are preaching. Please vote for the denial of this project. Thank you. HEARING MASTER: Thank you, ma'am. The next
person that wishes to speak. MS. HURLEY: My name is Ellie Hurley. I live
at 18509 Lake Keene Drive in Lutz. since 1999.
I lived there
And we have lived on Lake Keene and We also have raised two children
seen it dried up.
that went to public school, and they were relocated from Gaither to the new school, Freedom. And now
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we have a new high school, Steinbrenner. Learning Gate, as I understand, is a charter school where children attend based on lottery. It's not necessarily directly related to the community, other than for people that can come in from other locations. The traffic is a concern. went in on the corner. Walgreens recently
I don't think any traffic It's a dead zone Seen a
relationship was taken to that.
right there at Winn-Dixie and Walgreens. number of accidents already.
Idlewild Baptist church went in off of Van Dyke and Dale Mabry and -- boy, it's funny how you get nervous up here. HEARING MASTER: MS. HURLEY: Take your time.
And the thing is, when Idlewild
Baptist Church went in there was a discussion about which entrance they would use. You see now seven
days a week -- and it's a church, it's a good church. I'm not saying anything about that. But
the traffic and the relationship. up, and so does Dale Mabry. coming on, on Sunset.
Van Dyke backs
I see the same problem
Right now when the Walgreens backs up you can't even get home to Sunset -- through Sunset.
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And I live off Lake Keene Drive. As far as threatening the use of residential development, it has to be taken into consideration with the development and with the wetlands. And the other thing is, commercial zoning continues on Sunset, and it's not fair to the residents that do have homes on Sunset. I have to say. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. The next That's all
HEARING MASTER:
person who wishes to speak in opposition. MR. HASSINGER: Donald Hassinger. Good evening. My name is
I live at 18402 Cypress Cove I
Road in Lutz, and I've been there for 30 years.
also own the property at 18410 Cypress Cove Road in Lutz. If anybody from Genesis talks about negotiating with me, they never contacted me. I
never heard from them, so I don't know what they're talking about. with me anyway. And I am directly impacted by this proposed development, because I got one of their letters. And for me, the fact of this matter is really quite simple. The project doesn't make any sense. They made no negotiation efforts
The proposed school is to be built in a wetland,
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with the entrance on Sunset Lane as one of the entrances. Sunset Lane is a very narrow, We already have two schools
heavily-traveled road.
right at the entrance, Lutz Learning Center and Timms Memorial Presbyterian Preschool. There's
already very heavy traffic from these schools, and no public transportation. We furthermore have a Lutz Preparatory School, and of course the Lutz School. another school? This could be a prime example of what's wrong with Hillsborough County. That is permitting Do we really need
projects to be built without proper infrastructure. There is no public water source on this property. And worst of all, no sewer. Can you
imagine the effluent from over 1,000 people being dumped into the wetlands, with the new run-off draining towards Sunset and then down Cypress Cove Road towards Stemper? Why should anyone living in this area be for this project? Traffic and noise will increase and
our quality of life will be diminished. And here's the best part. for it. We all get to pay
All of us and all the citizens of
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Hillsborough County that pay property taxes are going to be paying for this thing. When a nonprofit organization in Clearwater, the Scientologists, took their property off the tax roles they made monetary contributions to the community to help make up the shortfall, and they didn't do any environmental damage. willing to do the same? I hope so. They're Is this group
Will they be paying impact fees? certainly going to have an impact.
And lastly, what I got out of this school, it's a very fine organization. work. It does very good
And the students who go there appear to be
very well-motivated, including the two speakers. However, I think it's a sad state of affairs. When
the more motivated children and the supposedly good kids abandon the public schools and go to these private schools and charter schools, I think it's a sad day for our public school system. Thank you. project. HEARING MASTER: MR. ABRAMS: Hi. Okay. My name is Brian Abrams. I And I hope you disapprove this
live at 18414 Turning Point Drive. I live right on the corner of Sunset Lane and
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Turning Point Drive.
There are many nights when I
try to come home from work and I come down 41, and with the stop sign on Hanna Road, cars are backed up three blocks away; a couple hundred yards where they can't even get through there. I've seen many times where our lakes have gone dry. I don't think that anybody putting another
project that large is going to do anything for our wetlands or the problems that we have with lakes today. It's going to get just worse. The County is
We're on water restrictions. running out of water. do this? Thank you.
How are we going to let them
HEARING MASTER: MR. CALCO:
Thank you, sir.
Sam Calco, 18442 Swan Lake Drive,
Lutz, Florida, Windemere subdivision right off Sunset Lane. I'm not against the school in any way, shape or form; however, it is the wrong location at this point, especially with the traffic on Sunset. The road cannot be widened, no turn lanes. It
warmed the cockles of my heart when this gentleman over here said they were going to encourage carpooling. That's a grand plan.
The point I wanted to make is, by their own
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admission, only 20 to 25 percent of the students that go to this current school are from the Lutz area. They're brought in from all over. Another point is, if they're 16 and 17-year-olds driving, maybe there's 200, 250 of them, whatever. The other students still have to
get there, so that's still cars. I'm not for the children from Pasco County. They're not from Lutz. don't have sex. They eat bean sprouts and
I'm happy for them. Is there anyone else who
HEARING MASTER:
wishes to speak in opposition? MS. BRYSON: Good evening. My name is Mary
Daniels Bryson, and I live at 18410 Cypress Cove Road. I'm new to the Lutz area. I just moved here
in October and I love my little piece of heaven on earth. One thing that I would like to state, as they stated before. unique. unique. There's diverse wildlife. If they develop in This site is unique. It's very
If they develop it, it will no longer be
the wetlands, that wildlife will go away. How can you teach sustainability when you are
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affecting wetlands which is not sustainable? acreage is in the conservation easement. is six lanes. Two lanes. square feet.
Most
U.S. 41
Cypress -- Sunset Lane is two lanes.
The school site building is 180,000 That's 4.13 acres. That doesn't
include all the drive aisles and everything else that will have to be built to sustain this school. They applied -- I checked with EPC today. They have applied for EPC determination. The folio
number that they submitted to EPC was 136930. That's the small piece of land where they're putting the road through from U.S. 41. That does
not include Folio Number 136930.0200, which is the 14-acre site that is off of Sunset. They have not
applied to EPC, or EPC was not aware of any of the other part of the development. There's 14 acres of wetlands on this site. This site has been vacant for 30 years that I know of. I am an arborist for the City of Tampa, and I
review trees, and five acres of trees coming out just doesn't sit right with me. And not only that. How many of those trees on What
that site for over 30 years are Grand Trees?
kind of impact are you going to have at this site? What are you going to do to the wildlife? This is
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not -- this is an ecological travesty, and I do not support it. This site -- the development of this site impacts the roads and Sunset Lane. I know you've
heard time and time again that Sunset Lane is at its capacity. With the development of the
Walgreens, I've seen two accidents there myself, just with one little Walgreens going at the corner of the street. The road as it currently is developed does not support the traffic that's already on it. Sunset
should not be an option for these people for access, period. Not for emergency vehicles, not Thank you.
for any -- no access off of Sunset. HEARING MASTER: Thank you.
I've kept track
of since I last asked how many people wanted to speak, and I've got six. hands up before. forward. MR. GARDNER: Good evening. I'm sorry. I'm Ed Gardner. Repeat that. I thought I saw seven Come
So you're number 7.
HEARING MASTER: MR. GARDNER:
Excuse me. Repeat your name.
HEARING MASTER: MR. GARDNER: Place, Lutz.
Ed Gardner, 18514 Sunward Lake
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My wife and I have lived in the Lutz community for eight years, both coming from respectively Pebble Creek in New Tampa and Westchase, and we have enjoyed the quiet and scenic community at Sunset Manor for the last eight years. I'll just be brief. I have a letter that I'll Two major points I We don't need this
leave with you all as well. would say from our letter: school.
The school should be built when there are
more students than the buildings to accommodate them. They should not be built based on political
correctness or because someone else is funding them. There are no free schools. taxpayers, are paying for them. Someone, the We should be
spending that money prudently and on things of necessity versus desirability. Second, it depends -- it seems counterproductive to disrupt and destroy a wetland that's supposed to be preserved to build an environmentally focused school. Since there will
be no busing, this Green school will be adding to our pollution problem instead of reducing it. I understand the existing students are excited about the new school; however, it is not their
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neighborhood that's being impacted.
They get to
stay in their nice little controlled communities and venture out to my community, polluting it with their traffic, noise, emissions and run-off, and then go back home and feel good about their Green school. The neighborhoods in this area don't want the school here, and thus we respectfully ask you to protect our interests and vote "No." HEARING MASTER: Thank you. All right. I've
extended the time to accommodate at least seven additional speakers. Is there anyone else in the One After
audience that wishes to speak in opposition? more gentleman. Okay. Please come forward.
that, we'll turn to Staff. MR. MEID: My name is Ed Meid. I live at
18305 Cypress Cove Road. I've listened to all these people tonight. I'm not that prepared, but I would like to say two things: My main concern is, like they've all said, I've lived at Cypress Cove Road
is the traffic.
for 40 years, and I had a canal that goes from my house down to Sunset behind the Presbyterian church. That has completely dried up. My kids would fish in it. It used to Now it's
stay full.
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dried up into it's nothing but a jungle. canal. The church cleaned up their part.
The whole
Lake Stemper, I have watched dry up, completely dry up. Lutz. That's the largest lake in They were out
I watched it dry up twice.
riding dirt bikes and four-wheelers on Lake Stemper, the biggest lake in Lutz. And I wasn't aware of the water situation there, but now I am, so that's a concern. But the traffic, it's gotten to the point, I brag all the time I can pull out on Highway 41 and not see a car in sight in any direction. There's
no place in Hillsborough County that you can do that. No place. But Sunset is a different story. They built I
that Sunset Manor opposite to Cypress Cove Road. can't hardly get out onto Sunset now to make a left-hand turn because there's constant traffic going one way or the other. And then you have
people come out of that subdivision that have no courtesy; they don't wait. You've been sitting
there for 10 minutes, and they'll pull right out in front of you. I was just in contact with the County, whatever he is, to try to get -- also at Sunset and
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41 there's a very short left-turn lane. short. And we have a turn light.
Very
But the traffic
opposing us coming out of the subdivision on the other side will turn in front of you when you've got a green light. And the same thing: There's a turn lane -- if
you're northbound on 41, there's a right-turn lane. But if you're headed southbound, you have an advanced green light and they'll turn in front of you. Just like this lady said, I can't even tell you how many accidents I've witnessed on Sunset and the driveway to Winn-Dixie parking lot, and now that opposing driveway out of Walgreens. not going to get any better. I've counted over 100 cars between Livingston and Cypress Cove Road when I come home. I don't And it's
know where they're planning on putting all these cars. And that's my objection. The school sounds wonderful, but unless the County does something about the streets -- maybe you could do like Idlewild Baptist church and furnish -- I think they have to pay for them -furnish cops to help direct traffic for all this traffic. I don't know what else you're going to do
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with it, because there's no place for it to go. Thank you. HEARING MASTER: Thank you, sir. At this
point in time, Staff, anything further? MR. GRADY: Not unless you have questions. Regarding public water and
HEARING MASTER:
sewer, are you aware of any available public water or sewer lines in the vicinity of the subject site? MR. GRADY: I checked prior to the hearing.
Our DIS map showed what appeared to be a water line. There wasn't any sewer. Although the water
line, it seemed like it was just a very small line serving just the immediate surrounding areas. This is in the rural service area; therefore, it is supposed to be served by private well and septic. There are provisions in the Land Development Code for a property owner to seek for an extension of utilities into the rural service area based on environmental impacts or concerns, so there's that opportunity. But as it stands right now, service
would be provided by a well and septic. HEARING MASTER: And if you know, this
stormwater concern, how are stormwater concerns addressed?
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MR. GRADY:
If this Application were approved,
during the site development review they would have to model based on the drainage in the area and the drainage characteristics out there, based on existing characteristics and design of the stormwater ponds to capture and treat that stormwater on-site so as to not cause any off-site flooding of adjacent property. So, they basically have to do modeling. There's technical manuals and modeling requirements they have to provide, and that would be reviewed by our Technical Staff during that review process. HEARING MASTER: Okay. I heard several times
throughout tonight's testimony that the property -the wetlands on the site are in conservation easements. Is that just sort of, you know, a word
of art or are we talking about legal conservation? MR. GRADY: I think you would have to ask the I can't respond to
Applicant to respond to that.
that particular issue about whether or not those wetlands are in conservation easements. there are conservation areas. But certainly through Environmental Protection Commission you can petition to impact those wetlands through that review process. Obviously,
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HEARING MASTER: anything further? MS. STENMARK: HEARING MASTER:
Okay.
Planning Commission,
No. At this point in time, the
Applicant has an opportunity for rebuttal. MR. MINEER: Thank you, sir. I'm Kevin Mineer
again, from the Genesis Group. entire team up here.
And I've brought my
Whatever questions that you
might have, they can answer. Just a couple of different things. will go on this site. It is approved for There's Of all the Something
residential and agricultural uses today. 40 plus acres of upland acreage today.
different uses that you could put on this site, this is going to be the most sensitive. There will be a couple of small impacts to a couple of wetland areas. The reason for those
impacts were as a result of direct negotiations with the neighbors to push that street, that access road, as far away as possible from any of the residences. We've met with EPC. approval. We have a tentative
We fully understand that we're going to
need a full approval -HEARING MASTER: Could you elaborate on what
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you did meet with EPC about? MR. MINEER: MR. GIBBONS: Yeah. John Gibbons, 201 East Kennedy
Boulevard, Tampa 33602. Yes, we met with the EPC Staff. the site plans and the possible plans. We went over The current
Site Plan has a total wetland impact of .7 acres, so less than an acre of impact. We have discussed
with them at length mitigation for those impacts: Improving -- increasing the size of several wetlands on the site, enhancing those wetlands, and also the issue of conservation easements for the wetland areas so they could never be impacted again. And all of that was in discussion with the EPC, and they were on Board for this project and felt that the amount of impact was small, given the benefit of the project. HEARING MASTER: Okay. Just to clarify for
the record, the term "conservation easement" has been used multiple times tonight. These wetlands They're
on the site, we're not at that stage. not -MR. GIBBONS:
No, they are not in conservation
easements at this point.
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HEARING MASTER: MR. HENRY: Associates.
All right.
Thank you.
Steve Henry with Links &
I just want to address the traffic very quickly. This project is unique in that the
improvements that they're proposing to do and the conditions that are imposed upon them. staggered hours. One is the
Again, we've discussed this
previously, that the school -- the students will arrive outside the peak hour and will leave outside the p.m. peak hour. So from that standpoint, we've
been able to utilize the arrivals and departures outside the peak hours. In addition to that, unlike most schools that arrive at a certain time and leave, we've staggered those hours to help, again, minimize the traffic impact. In addition to that, as far as queuing, we've got over 1,200 feet of queuing from Sunset Lane to the drop-off. We have more than double that from
U.S. 41 to the drop-off. In addition to that, we're providing a leftturn lane on Sunset Lane and a right-turn lane into the project access on Sunset Lane. The other
projects they speak about don't have those turn
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lanes.
So, we have been able to mitigate the
impact by providing turn lanes and providing more than sufficient queuing on-site. From that standpoint, we think that we have been able to mitigate it through the use of staggered hours and also the improvements that we're doing. HEARING MASTER: If you could briefly address,
there was a comment about U.S. 41/Sunset Lane intersection. Do you know what the current level
of service is, and do you know what the level of service will be with project traffic? MR. HENRY: The current level of service with
the -- with our traffic is "E" at that intersection, based on analysis. to be "E" with the project. It will continue
Again, that's -- and
then during the p.m. peak hour it's level of service "D" existing. back. When I say "existing," the level of Service E is based on not only our traffic, but also we added in the Lutz Learning Center that is more than almost double in size. on top of that. We've added their traffic And actually I take that
With all that traffic, it's "E."
We won't change the level of service of that
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overall intersection, which is Level of Service E. And again, in the p.m. peak hour it's "D." HEARING MASTER: Do you have any response,
comment to the testimony you've heard from those in opposition about what the split in traffic will be between folks that use the U.S. 41 driveway versus the folks that use the Sunset Lane driveway? MR. HENRY: One of the things that we will do
as a part of the conditions, we have to submit a Traffic Circulation Plan. Based on the distribution that we had, the predominant amount of traffic was using Sunset Lane, without any restrictions. We can certainly
work with Staff, work with the Applicant on what kind of traffic distribution there may be. even with that, we looked at a worst-case unrestricted and what was the impact, and based on that, that's where the turn lanes and the queuing and everything else was evaluated. HEARING MASTER: MR. GIBBONS: John Gibbons again. This traffic problem doesn't come as a surprise tonight. was first filed. It's been an issue since this We have had numerous meetings Okay. Thank you. But
I just wanted to add one thing.
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with County Staff regarding this issue.
We have
tried different plans, and we seized upon one which the Staff found acceptable and found didn't adversely impact the current level of service, as you heard from Mr. Henry. As you know, this project meets all of the elements of every Land Use plan, and we feel that we've demonstrated our willingness to work with the Staff and our willingness to make sure that this does not adversely impact the area. And you've heard from a professional engineer regarding this; you have the County Staff report; and we would ask you to approve it based on the substantial competent evidence that you have. HEARING MASTER: rebuttal? MR. MINEER: Just one last thing. There was Does that conclude your
some issue about the kids don't come from Lutz. We've spoken with Ms. Patti, and she commits that -- she runs the boat; she runs the show. And
she is committed that the first chance will be kids from -- sorry. MS. GIRARD: It's in our charter that we will
only accept kids from Hillsborough, except for those kids that are presently with us. We will not
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accept kids out of Hillsborough County. And also we will give first choice to the Lutz residents' children. MR. MINEER: That's in our charter. Unless you have
Thank you, sir.
any other questions. HEARING MASTER: VOICE: Very good. With that --
Could we ask the team a question? -- that concludes this
HEARING MASTER: Application. No, sir.
At this point in time, Mr. Grady, we recommend a 10-minute break. MR. GRADY: Yeah, to allow the room to clear. Okay. Thank you. We'll have
HEARING MASTER:
a 10-minute recess, and we'll reconvene at approximately quarter to 9:00. (Recess held at this time.) HEARING MASTER: Ladies and gentlemen, we're
ready to reconvene tonight's Zoning Hearing Master Hearing. At this point in time, Mr. Grady, if you could introduce the next item.
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Gates Hearing Transcripts

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Received 5/22/2012 9:55 AM BOCC Records

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

In Re: ZONING HEARING MASTER HEARINGS

ZONING HEARING MASTER HEARING TRANSCRIPT OF TESTIMONY AND PROCEEDINGS

BEFORE: DATE: TIME:

Executive Reporting Service (800) 337-7740

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Application Number: Applicant:

SU 12-0429 LU Patti Girard, Learning Gate Ed. Fnd., Inc.

N/S of Sunset Lane, 800' E/O U.S. Hwy 41

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Executive Reporting Service (800) 337-7740

Executive Reporting Service (800) 337-7740

Oh, well, we'll go past that. One of them is because we do

Why this site?

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Executive Reporting Service (800) 337-7740

our first and most important classroom.

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Executive Reporting Service (800) 337-7740

Nye Park is right here.

This is a copy of our Site Plan.

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Many, many places the buffer is far more

A vast majority of the wetlands, we There's some few small impacts

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They're one and two stories in size.

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They're a Florida Green School award

They're the first public charter school in

They won three awards with the And I

Planning Commission Community Design Awards. like the last one.

They got the recycling award

an extremely green school.

website, you can see dozens and dozens and dozens

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of awards year after year after year.

Mr. Mineer, regarding your Do you have an

We most certainly do.

description for the pathway. easement? MR. MINEER: Yes.

Well, we will record

We have been in negotiations with He's in full agreement,

that property owner. full -- sure. HEARING MASTER: MR. GIBBONS:

Good evening. My name is John

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I'm an attorney with the Sacks & Gilmore

And we have the property owner

HEARING MASTER: MR. GIBBONS:

Thank you. As opposed to elementary or

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But bottom line is, we will have

maximum number of kids for the school.

Testimony by a representative was about What does that mean?

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MR. MENDEZ: staggered.

What we've done is we've

Every 15 minutes we have different And the staggered So after eight

HEARING MASTER: MR. MENDEZ:

And so on. From middle school all the

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way through 12th.

And that's done in the morning

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It's a conceptual, but this will be