After an emotional, 2½-hour hearing Tuesday night at a packed City Hall, the Cortez City Council voted 4-1 to approve a conditional use permit for Kiva Montessori School downtown at 25 and 18 N. Beech St.
One by one, tearful parents praised Kiva’s influence on their children, and staff members spoke about the school’s mission while making a case for the permit. About a dozen elementary-age children attended, along with school officials, neighbors and business owners.
Tom Butler cast the opposing vote. Mayor Pro Tem Ty Keel recused himself, and councilman Jim Price was absent. Mayor Karen Sheek and councilmembers Bob Archibeque, Shawna McLaughlin and Orly Lucero voted for the permit.
The Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended that the permit be denied because of a lack of parking and the potentially adverse impact on the neighborhood and traffic.
Kiva plans to use 25 N. Beech as administrative and classroom space and 18 N. Beech as a gym/cafeteria. They are between E. Main and North streets.
School leaders told the council that they plan to cap enrollment at 90 for the 2015-2016 school year, which would reduce the number of parking spaces from 10 to seven to satisfy city code requirements.
Business owners shared concerns about reduced business parking and increased traffic that the school could cause, and its adverse effect on a part of town that has struggled to stay afloat since the recession.
“We firmly believe in the Montessori philosophy. That’s the good: It’s the right thing to do for this community. The bad: This is the wrong place to put it,” said Kent Lindsey, owner of El Grande Cafe. Lindsey also said that in his 35 years at the location, he has witnessed how risky it can be for pedestrians.
“In that facility you guys are in, I’ve personally responded to three kids hit by cars and one lady hit by cars at that intersection,” he said.
Kiva staff emphasized that there would be three dedicated crossing guards to guide students from building to building for lunch or gym class, and the school would have a pick-up and drop-off point on North Street to ease congestion at Main and Beech.
Councilman Butler said that he couldn’t get past the hazard of placing a school within a business district with heavy truck traffic.
“Parking could be bad or it could be good, but the thing that bothers me more than anything else is a kid getting hit crossing that road. This is not worth it,” he said.
Kiva board president Julie Suckla and Kiva director Josh Warriner stressed that the location would only be utilized by the school until expansion plans at the Kiva’s Empire Street location were complete.
“We see this as serving us up to 130 students,” Suckla said. “We have property behind existing the preschool – it’s eight acres. We’ve already worked with an architect to draw up a vision for that property, have met with some of the Planning and Zoning already in that regard.”
Warriner said robust funding streams and financing won’t become available until it has been established for at least three years. The Beech Street location would allow the school the space it needs to continue to meet enrollment demand while it works on securing funding and construction.
The permit includes several conditions, including an annual review in March by the city council to assess whether the plan works for all parties.
“We live in a world that’s full of risks, and to simply say no because there’s a one in 1,000 chance (of a child getting by a car) or to simply say no because we think that maybe it’s going to be difficult for businesses – I’m not sure that’s true either. I’m not sure its going to be as good as what the Montessori people are telling us, but it may not be as bad as what the business community is expecting,” said Sheek.
