City council on Monday agreed to grant a development variance that would pave the way for a major expansion of Southpointe Academy in Tsawwassen.
The application by the Tsawwassen Independent School Society will see the addition of a second building to the east of the existing private school building on 56th Street.
Consistent with the Official Community Plan, the application would see the addition constructed on top of an existing parking area.
The new building would be eight-storeys tall including six floors of classrooms, a mezzanine and a rooftop mechanical room. The building would contain 74,917-square-feet of floor area providing 39 classrooms, a gymnasium and administrative space.
A development variance permit is required to increase the maximum permitted height of the building and to decrease the interior side setback and bicycle parking requirements.
The development would allow the school enrollment to grow from the current 663 students to 858 students.
A planning department report notes that the owner has submitted a traffic impact assessment to evaluate the anticipated traffic volumes.
The study identified that there is existing queuing along 19th Avenue during the morning period. The proposed development is expected to generate 209 new vehicle trips in the morning peak hours and 159 new trips in the afternoon peak hours.
The assessment recommends that the city monitor the intersection of 19th Avenue and 56th Street for queuing length and consider lengthening the southbound left turn lane, if required.
However, no intersection improvements are currently recommended.
The report also notes that the owner has provided a pick-up and drop-off strategy to address queuing during the morning period.
The property is located in a Streamside Protection and Enhancement Area Development Permit Area, so a special permit by the city is required, among other conditions, before a development permit is issued.
