Saratoga News

Planners give Montessori school thumbs up at church

Neighbors protest addition of traffic to the busy street

Some residents may appeal

By Sarah Lombardo

In what one commissioner called "the toughest thing I've ever had to deal with," the Saratoga Planning Commission voted Oct. 22 to grant a conditional-use permit to One World Montessori School Inc., to locate in existing classroom facilities at the Immanuel Lutheran Church at 14103 Saratoga Ave.

The vote was 5-0 in favor of the application--Richard Siegfried was absent--with conditions that the permit be strictly for One World and no other school's use of the facilities; that the permit be reviewed in June with no automatic renewal; that parents of the school's students place placards in their cars so that neighbors can monitor whether they are using side-street shortcuts; and that a traffic monitor from the school be out every day during peak pick-up and drop-off times to ensure that traffic moves as smoothly as possible.

The application calls for preschool through sixth-grade classes to be housed at the church's facility, using eight classrooms and two multipurpose rooms on two floors of the church. A portion of the lower parking lot would be used for playground equipment. The parking lot has spaces for 114 cars, 20 of which would be used for school employees and another 20 for the playground. Class times are staggered throughout the day, which planning department staff and school officials said could help alleviate any traffic concerns. Planning department staff even suggested that the width of Saratoga Avenue could allow for turn lanes to be installed on the road to let cars turning into the school's lot stack up but not block traffic. City staff also recommended that the church's driveway entrances on Seagraves Way be closed off while school is in session to discourage parents from using that residential street.

Public testimony on the issue lasted about three hours and pitted school supporters' pleas for help against the emotional urging of the church's neighbors for consideration and delay of the issue until more traffic studies are done.

A packed house in the Civic Theater consisted of almost equal numbers of parents and neighbors. Speakers ran the gamut, from longtime Saratoga residents opposed to the increase in traffic and noise to a 12-year-old One World Student who asked the commission to help save his school.

School founder Rebecca Keith reminded the commission that the school, now located in Cupertino, began in Saratoga in 1979 and that without a place to go, it would have to shut down.

"At this point, if our school doesn't find a place to locate, we will have to close. We must be out of our present location by the end of December," she said.

Keith said that she and the parents were willing to make any arrangements necessary to make the school's presence unobtrusive. "We know that we will create some inconvenience for some people," she said, "and we really hope to make it as little as possible."

Other families, including several Saratoga residents whose children are currently enrolled or former students at One World, pleaded with the commission to grant them the use of the church facilities. Many stressed that the situation would only be temporary.

"I am so sorry to impose upon the community asking this," said parent David Knoll, "but, believe me, none of us would be here if we didn't have to be."

But residents, many of whom also said they had children in the soon-to-be-homeless Montessori school, asked the commission to think about the impact that traffic from an extra 98 families with about 150 more students would have on the already congested Saratoga Avenue.

Gwen Jacobs, who lives on Saratoga Avenue next to the church, said the increase in traffic would make a dangerous situation worse.

"I fear every time I pull in and out of my driveway," she said, recounting for the commission the details of an accident she and her children were in on Saratoga Avenue while she waited to pull into her driveway.

Commissioner Margaret Kaplan described the issue as one of the toughest she'd had to deal with.

"I really don't know that this is the best place for a school," she said. "I don't know how I'm going to vote."

Joanne Martens, a Loma Rio Drive resident, said she believes the commission made its decision based on biased opinions about the quality of Montessori education.

"Their job is not to evaluate education. It's their job to oversee projects that could have a negative impact on the safety and quality of life," she said. Martens pointed to commissioner Mary-Lynne Bernald's remarks about how impressed she is with her children's education. "They made an unprofessional decision."

Some of the neighbors said they plan to appeal the decision.

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]