03-Compass School Building Expansion CZC Project Narrative
O:\1911170PH Compass Charter School - Phase 2\Documents\Documents\Project Narrative Compass School Phase 2 Rev01.docx
Compass Public Charter School Project Narrative
January 2, 2020
Compass Public Charter Schools is seeking Design Review and Certificate of Zoning Compliance for a project at 4667 W
Aviator Street in the City of Meridian. The site is generally east of North Black Cat Road and north of Franklin Road.
Compass Public Charter School is an established K-12 charter school in the City of Meridian. Compass began operating
within the City of Meridian in 2005. Compass’s initial facility, which currently houses elementary students, is located on
Cherry Lane between Ten Mile and Linder. In August of 2019, Compass moved the secondary (6-12) students to the
current school building on the Black Cat Campus from a leased facility at 1422 S Tech Lane.
Compass Public Charter School now plans on constructing the second phase to house the elementary school, which is
currently operating at a different location. This project will provide a 33,243 sf, 2-story building expansion. The expansion
was master planned and will tie-in seamlessly with the architecture of the existing school building and the site. The
proposed expansion will max out the existing school site, as originally planned. Required storm water management
facilities, landscaping, and irrigation are included in the scope of the project. The only additional site lighting will be wall
packs on the building expansion.
At the time the original 68,134 sf building was approved, 167 parking spaces were provided, 30 more than what was
required by the ordinance in place at the time (1 space per 500 square feet of gross floor area). With this addition, the
square footage of the building will total 101,377 sf, requiring 253 parking spaces (1 space per 400 square feet of gross
floor area), which would require the addition of 86 spaces to the campus.
For this project, the School is asking the City to grant an exception for the additional 86 spaces required by code, as they
are requesting to defer these spaces to the future by placing them into a development agreement with the City. As such,
no additional parking is proposed as part of this project.
The School’s plan of action for deferral of the required parking is as follows:
• The school would rather not develop parking across Aviator and have their students and/or staff cross Aviator as
they go between the school and parking lot. This concern grows as development continues in the area and
Aviator gets extended to the east. As such, the school is currently pursuing other properties to purchase, where
they can place parking along with other recreational facilities.
• The School would like to set up a development agreement with City, which allows them to defer the parking until
new property is obtained. Once obtained, the School will construct the necessary parking spaces, making the
campus code compliant. Should the school not find any additional property, the development agreement would
have them construct the required parking on their parcel, north of Aviator, along with the necessary crossing
signals and improvements required by ACHD and the City.
• During the deferral period, the school will closely monitor parking needs and demands, engaging in various items
to control parking, should it be needed. Mandatory carpooling and limiting which students can park on campus
are some of the ways the School will manage parking, should it be necessary.
• Although the School feels operationally that they will be able to handle the extra building capacity with the current
provided parking, the School will also work with the City to address any parking issues during the deferral period,
should they arise.
Per the discussion above, we are submitting a Development Review Application and respectfully request a Certificate of
Zoning Compliance along with an 86-space parking exception. The School is also asking that the deferred parking be
placed into a development agreement for the project which will assure the City that the required parking will be completed.
O:\1911170PH Compass Charter School - Phase 2\Documents\Documents\Project Narrative Compass School Phase 2 Rev01.docx
SUMMARY OF APPLICATIONS
The Applicant is requesting the following approvals:
• Certificate of Zoning Compliance
• Design Review
PRE-APPLICATION & NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING
A pre-application meeting and neighborhood meeting are not required for the proposed project.