Bowman International School’s plan to expand got a quick nod of approval from the community and city officials Tuesday.
The Palo Alto City Council unanimously voted to allow the private school to merge two parcels south of campus, which would more than triple its footprint at 4000 Terman Drive.
The school wants to use the properties at 689-693 Arastradero Road for new facilities, including a gym, an administration and classroom building, lab space for art and wood shop and an outdoor learning circle amphitheater, according to a city report.
The school has said the expansion isn’t to increase enrollment but to provide more “breakout spaces” for students. Younger students, ages 3 to 5, will stay at the new campus while older students will walk 0.2 of a mile between the sites.
The combined lots would become a 54,894-square-foot parcel, which exceeds the 19,999 square feet allowed in a residential zoning district. The council agreed to make an exception for the school.
Christina Hildebrand, who lives off Arastradero Road and is a parent of Bowman students, supports the expansion.
“I truly feel that the Bowman School has taken into consideration the local community and also is not asking for an increase in the (conditional use permit),” Hildebrand said. “They’ve been very conscientious on how the school will be expanded and mitigate the traffic and the impact on the local community and, living in that local community, that does make a big difference to me.”
Some Planning and Transportation Commission members expressed concerns in February about losing the houses on those parcels, which are in a residential zoning district. The three houses are vacant and commissioners wondered whether the site could be developed into multi-family housing like on an adjacent lot.
City staff also received a written comment objecting to conversion of the homes to a school on grounds it would add about 60 students’ worth of congestion to an area already rife with other schools.
Attorney William McClure, who represents Bowman, said the school does not intend to exceed the maximum enrollment of 300 students already allowed by an existing conditional use permit. The school’s current enrollment is 237.
McClure also noted in a letter to city leaders that each parcel already exceeds the square feet allowed. He also drew attention to the difficulties of developing the site for other uses because of its irregular triangle shape.
Commissioners and city staff ultimately agreed that merging the lots allows better site planning. For instance, the school can then place the taller building at the rear of the lot rather than at the front where it would be more visible, staff said.
Mayor Greg Scharff said the school’s expansion is a good use of the property; other council members called the plan reasonable.
Councilman Cory Wolbach supported the project but noted it’s an “unusual circumstance.” He and Councilman Tom DuBois suggested the city should discuss in the future the difference in allowances for private versus public schools in Palo Alto.
“I’m very concerned any time we talk about removing housing units, even if it’s only one or two, even if they’re not in great shape,” Wolbach said. “The use for educational purposes I think is a pretty good purpose, though. … I personally don’t think the special treatment of our public school system, and that special role it plays in Palo Alto, I do not think that it extends to the same level as privatized education in Palo Alto. It doesn’t mean we don’t value them, but I do think there is a distinction.”
