The expansion plan for Epiphany School signifies the growing pains of both the educational facility and the neighborhood.
Epiphany School, a private elementary school located in Madrona at 3710 E. Howell St., contends that the current dearth of space available leaves limited openings for new families in the neighborhood. They hope that the expansion will increase both the school's accessibility and diversity by enabling them to admit additional students.
Some neighborhood residents claim that the proposed expansion will bring a slew of problems including traffic, parking, noise and safety issues. Bart Smith, a member of the Neighbors of Epiphany, believes that Epiphany School will not be a good neighbor until Epiphany parents, who are not necessarily from the neighborhood, become good neighbors.
A working relationship
Smith recalled an exchange with an Epiphany School mother who parked 5 feet from a stop sign, rather than the required 30 feet, and was facing the wrong direction. When he asked the woman not to park so close to the sign, he said, she asked how it affected him and why he cared.
Epiphany headmaster George Edwards points out that 60 percent of the Epiphany School students come from the 98122 and 98112 ZIP codes and says that the school has worked hard to alleviate concerns from area residents.
"We want to work with the neighbors, and I think we have," Edwards said, citing such examples as establishing a traffic-complaint line, implementing a new dropoff system, restructuring the parking and redesigning the traffic flow.
Smith said that the school is listening to the neighborhood group's concerns but is not acting on them. He wants the school to develop firm plans that he hopes will turn promises into enforceable orders.
"For example, they could hire an off-duty traffic cop at dropoff and pickup times," he said. "We suggested it to Epiphany School a year ago, and they cried about the cost, then proceeded to buy up another $3 million of residential property."
Edwards insists that the school has worked with neighbors and said critics of the project are in the minority.
"We followed the correct procedural process and have won general support for the school," he said. "I just wish our harshest critics would become involved in the process rather than just being critical."
Gradual growth
Currently, the school has one class per grade, and the sizes range from 14 to 18 students. Eventually, they hope to add another class, with a similar number of students, for each grade from kindergarten through fifth-grade.
The growth would be gradual, with one class added each school year, and ultimately the increase would be roughly 135 students to 210.
"We've remained the same size for the past 50 years," Edwards said. "It's hard to survive with this economy of scale, and even with the expansion, we will remain a very small school."
To achieve its goal of increased enrollment, the school is intent on adding classrooms and other facilities. Spurred by the fact that Epiphany Church, which currently owns half of the school's space, will reclaim some of the space at the end of its current lease agreement in 2011, Epiphany School has begun to acquire property in the adjoining area.
One house across from the playground has been purchased with plans to convert it into a classroom building, and the school is hoping to acquire the remaining four properties on the block where the church and school are located.
So far, two of these units have already been purchased.
The Neighbors of Epiphany say they have nothing against the school but feel that the expansion would add congestion to their quiet residential neighborhood.
Smith, who moved to Madrona from Capitol Hill, said he has no desire for Madrona to degrade from a quiet, diverse, family-oriented neighborhood into an institutional area that is in constant use.
He is concerned about the shared usage of property between the school and the adjacent church and believes that the combined activities of the two entities will overwhelm the neighborhood.
"The fact that Epiphany is a school, even a good school, is not the main issue," Smith explained. "It is a business, and the City Council provided municipal code to minimize business activity in residentially zoned areas."
Working through the process
Recently, another area private school, The Bush School in Madison Valley, and the Neighbors of Bush Association worked hand-in-hand on an expansion despite a contentious history. Smith pointed out several differences in the Epiphany situation.
"Bush School is a school, and only a school," he said. "Epiphany School, by bundling themselves with Epiphany Church in order to gain DPD (Department of Planning and Development) approval for expansion creates a complex, unmanageable, multipurpose site, including activity that extends from early morning to late at night, seven days a week."
In retrospect, Edwards admits he probably would have done some things differently in seeking to improve community relations when seeking expansion. However, he is still hopeful that the school and Neighbors of Epiphany can develop a cohesive relationship similar to the one established by the Bush School and their neighbors.
"The Bush Association came out of decades of conflict in the neighborhood," Edwards said of the Bush group that was formed in 1979. "They had to work through the process to get an acceptable model. We've only been working on this for about a year. We'll get there."
small school."
To achieve its goal of increased enrollment, the school is intent on adding classrooms and other facilities. Spurred by the fact that Epiphany Church, which currently owns half of the school's space, will reclaim some of the space at the end of its current lease agreement in 2011, Epiphany School has begun to acquire property in the adjoining area.
One house across from the playground has been purchased with plans to convert it into a classroom building, and the school is hoping to acquire the remaining four properties on the block where the church and school are located.
So far, two of these units have already been purchased.
The Neighbors of Epiphany say they have nothing against the school but feel that the expansion would add congestion to their quiet residential neighborhood.
Smith, who moved to Madrona from Capitol Hill, said he has no desire for Madrona to degrade from a quiet, diverse, family-oriented neighborhood into an institutional area that is in constant use. He is concerned about the shared usage of property between the school and the adjacent church and believes that the combined activities of the two entities will overwhelm the neighborhood.
"The fact that Epiphany is a school, even a good school, is not the main issue," Smith explained. "It is a business, and the City Council provided municipal code to minimize business activity in residentially zoned areas."
Recently, another area private school, The Bush School in Madison Valley, and the Neighbors of Bush Association worked hand-in-hand on an expansion despite a contentious history. Smith pointed out several differences in the Epiphany situation.
"Bush School is a school, and only a school," he said. "Epiphany School, by bundling themselves with Epiphany Church in order to gain DPD (Department of Planning and Development) approval for expansion creates a complex, unmanageable, multipurpose site, including activity that extends from early morning to late at night, seven days a week."
In retrospect, Edwards admits he probably would have done some things differently in seeking to improve community relations when seeking expansion. However, he is still hopeful that the school and Neighbors of Epiphany can develop a cohesive relationship similar to the one established by the Bush School and their neighbors.
"The Bush Association came out of decades of conflict in the neighborhood," Edwards said of the Bush neighborhood group that was formed in 1979. "They had to work through the process to get an acceptable model. We've only been working on this for about a year. We'll get there."
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