Title
SP 2017-15, Somerset Academy North, 20801 - 20805 Johnson Street, site plan amendment. (Joseph)
Summary Explanation and Background
Civica Group, agent for Somerset Academy, is requesting a site plan amendment to the existing school site located at 20801- 20805 Johnson Street. The following items are proposed as a result of this application:
1. The creation of a traffic operations plan as requested by staff in order to maximize recently updated parking lot updates on site and establishing a student cap of 2,900 students for this campus.
2. The addition of recreational equipment, a scoreboard, fencing/gates, and canvas awnings on the site.
Proposed Traffic Operations Plan
The City has been working with Somerset to alleviate some of the stacking issues that have been created as this school has grown. In order to address these concerns, Somerset recently installed a new drive aisle at the north side of the site which connects both existing parking lots. This improvement effectively allowed for significant continuous stacking storage on site.
Civica Group, at the request of staff, provided the Board with a Traffic Operations Plan as well as a traffic study as part of this application. A Traffic Operations plan would be required for all new schools within the City as per recent City Ordinance.
Highlights to the traffic operations plan for the north campus include the following:
§ The applicant agreed to restrict the property to a maximum cap of 2,900 students with an expectation that the students will predominantly consist of 4th grade through 12th grade students.
o Somerset has acknowledged that any increase in number of students from this cap would need to be reviewed and approved by the City. By providing this age range on campus, Somerset believes that the time for pickup and drop off will move faster most of the students of this age need less time to load.
§ K-3rd grade will attend school at the proposed South Campus on Pines Boulevard and 196th Avenue. The proposed South Campus site plan is on consideration at tonight’s meeting.
Since Somerset Academy North site plan was approved prior to the passage of the School ordinance, they were not required to provide a student enrollment cap to the City. Somerset’s enrollment has steadily increased over the years as the school continues to be designated as high performing per State Charter School regulations. Somerset Academy occupancy currently is only limited by life safety requirements. By comparison, Civica Group confirmed to planning staff that the maximum fire occupancy load for Somerset Academy North campus is currently 3,965 people.
§ The provision for staggered start times with analysis of loading times:
o Middle/High School - 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
§ 2000 students expected - 1,640 private automobiles* - Estimated 34 minutes for entire AM drop off cycle.
§ Middle/High school stacking on site allows for up to 100 vehicles from pickup / drop off area (See figure 4 of traffic study). The school site is able to hold over 250 cars throughout the entire queue (incoming stacking plus outbound traffic).
o Elementary School - 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM.
§ 900 students expected - 738 private automobiles* - Estimated 15 minutes for entire AM drop off time.
§ Elementary school stacking on site allows for up to 135 vehicles to furthest pickup / drop off area (See figure 3 of traffic study). The school site is able to hold over 250 cars throughout the entire queue (incoming stacking plus outbound traffic).
§ Morning drop off times have been designed to not conflict with nearby West Broward High School which currently begins school at 7:30 AM.
§ Gates on site will open 30-45 minutes before the earliest start of school.
§ PM pickup cycles will result in smaller populations of students leaving school at the same time due to after school activities.
*It is presumed within the study that 18% of the children will arrive via bus or private van. Separate bus pick up and drop off areas are provided at the south end of the property which are separated from the car queue.
§ Plan designation of pickup/ drop off areas on site.
§ Provisions providing for police, crossing guard and on site traffic control personnel during pickup/drop off.
§ Designation of employee parking in areas in certain parking areas which would severely restrict on-site stacking.
§ A recommendation to place a no U-turn sign near a turnaround to the west of the school on Johnson Street. The no U-turn on Johnson will reduce trips onto 208 Avenue during pick up / drop off hours.
§ A recommendation to place a NO THRU TRAFFIC sign on NW 4 Street, east of 208 Avenue and west of 202 Avenue to discourage cars from using residential NW 4th Street to access the school.
§ Somerset suggests police enforcement of the no U-turn and no thru street signs as stated above by police personnel for the first two weeks of implementation of these policies.
Proposed On Site Additions:
• The addition of sports field equipment to include bleachers, scoreboard and sports courts. No site lighting is proposed as part of this application.
o Bleachers to be located directly south of the existing football field.
§ Bleachers to be placed atop a concrete slab.
§ Bleachers to be covered by a blue shade structure.
• Bleacher Area +-165’ long = 387 seating capacity.
• Shade structure (147 feet long be approximately 20 feet high.
o Scoreboard to be located at the northwest corner of the site
§ Scoreboard to be electronic LED type.
§ Scoreboard dimensions 8 feet high, 24 feet wide.
§ Scoreboard to be 16’-0” high (Max height including columns)
§ Scoreboard to face eastward.
o Two sports courts with basketball goals located in a current grassed area to the west of existing building “B” and south of the existing cafeteria.
o 6 foot high, green vinyl coated chainlink fence with manual gates, installed at two locations at the north side of the property as depicted on the proposed site plan.
o The installation of approximately 900 lf of blue canvas pedestrian awning along segments of the eastern sidewalks of the property. Canvas awning to match specifications of existing awning extending east from building B. The addition of a similar canvas awning to the west of building “D”.
City staff has reviewed the overall proposed site plan amendment request with associated traffic study and has no objections.
Staff recommendation: Transmit to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation subject to the following:
1. City Commission approval for development within the Chapel Trail PUD.
2. Somerset Academy commit to the installation and enforcement of no U-turn sign on Johnson Street and NO THRU TRAFFIC signs on NW 4 Street subject to review and approval of the City Engineering Division.
3. Somerset Academy commit to providing for a police presence at the Johnson Street turn around and NW 4th Street locations for the first two weeks of implementation of this traffic plan. Materials should also be provided to the students and parents from the school explaining the new traffic circulation patterns.
4. Somerset agree to work with the City to re-evaluate the Traffic Operations Plan should modifications need to be made post implementation. This would occur if the proposed traffic operations plan was found by staff to not be effective in relieving congestion on public roads.