Representative of the First United Methodist Church (FUMC) are requesting a conditional use permit amendment to allow the construction of a two-story educational building for private school use at an existing church campus. The property is located in the Central Business District (CBD), in which requires a CUP for buildings over 3,000 square feet and for private school use. The 10-acre piece of property is bounded by SR 50 and Desoto Street; and 7th street and 8th street.
FUMC wants to add a 25,000 square foot educational building in the northeast corner of the site along with a 2,200 square foot pavilion within the lower parking lot area adjacent to the new building.
The building will be used to expand their existing educational services and students enrolled at Wesley Christian Academy. The additional building will increase school enrollment by 184 students and expand the school to include 8th grade classes. The applicant has performed a queue analysis that focused on the pick-up and drop-off periods for the K-8 students. The school’s queue management system currently operates within its capacity and is projected to operate within its capacity for all age groups/time periods at the expansion buildout year in 2024. The total number of students in K-8th will be 350 students and 110 children in the VPK/3-year-old program.
The city staff reviewed the CUP application and the proposed intensity, character and type of development deemed the church campus and proposed private school expansion is compatible with the surrounding development and the queue management plan appears to accommodate the additional vehicles on-site with this expansion.
Clermont City Council reviewed the proposal and recommendation of the city staff and voted to approve the proposal.
