CASE NUMBER: PZ 24-036
APPLICANT: Chika Onwukaeme, New Era Learning Academy.
VARIANCE: To vary Table 6-4 to reduce required parking for a school; Sec. 6-54 required minimum area per parking space.
LOCATION: 4640 Hiram Lithia Springs RD SW
ZONING: CRC Acreage: 1.25-ac PIN: 19104600170
Staff Recommendation: Approval. Planning and Zoning:
BACKGROUND: Ms. Chika Onwukaeme, owner of New Era Learning Academy, has operated a childcare facility at the subject site for several years. The facility has been providing early childhood education and care services to the community, serving local families, and contributing to the area's educational needs. Recently, the applicant submitted permits to add a new 1,736-square-foot modular classroom building, which would supplement the existing 5,880-square-foot structure on the property. This expansion triggered a parking analysis by the Unified Development Code (UDC) standards, requiring one parking space per 300 square feet of building area, resulting in a minimum requirement of 25 spaces.
Historically, the facility operated with a parking configuration that did not fully meet the UDC's parking requirements yet has managed to accommodate its operational needs based on the number of staff that drive, and the fact that the children are dropped off via a carpool line. To address the parking shortfall due to the expansion, the applicant requested a variance to reduce the total required parking spaces from 25 to 17 and to adjust the minimum parking space dimensions from 9-feet by 20-feet to 8.5-feet by 19-feet. The request includes the addition of six new parking spaces by paving an area in the front along the southern boundary of the property, as shown in figure 3.
The applicant has indicated that the proposed expansion is intended to accommodate students currently enrolled in New Era Learning Academy and will be used for the after-school program. The children who stay after school wi...
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