The Anaheim City Council blocked a charter school development near the Anaheim Coves, after hearing from a barrage of residents concerned about having a new school built near their homes.
The proposed charter school at 2780 E. Wagner Ave., hoped to have up to 480 students at max capacity. The Planning Commission had already approved the project, but a resident appealed that decision to the City Council, which ultimately agreed with concerns over traffic safety and pollution.
The Cove Church currently owns the property and agreed to sell it to Scholarship Prep, a public charter school network in Southern California. The church’s pastor said the building was too expensive for the church to maintain, forcing their decision to sell.
The City Council voted 5-1 to effectively block the project. Councilmember Stephen Faessel recused himself because he lives nearby.
Councilmembers who approved the appeal said they were concerned about traffic safety during pickup and drop-off times for the school and noise and air pollution. Several single-family homes surround the site in question.
“When you buy a home, and you buy a home next to a church, you do have an expectation that Saturday night to Sunday morning it’s gonna be a little bit busier,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said. “Moving that from one and half days a week to seven days a week is a big impact to the neighbors, and it’s not what they bought their house next to and is a dramatic change in that neighborhood.”
The city’s staff had recommended denying the appeal, which would have granted the needed permit to proceed with the project.
“The notion that a residential neighborhood is not good for a school, it’s not true. That’s the best place for a school,” Councilmember Jose Diaz said, who was the lone vote against the appeal. “Where are we going to build a school?”
Nearby residents expressed concerns about traffic spillover and noise caused by the school and losing a neighborhood church….
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