PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING DATE:
APRIL 21, 2025
SUBJECT:
Title
BAYPOINT PREPARATORY ACADEMY REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW THE CONTINUED OPERATION OF A 200-STUDENT CHARTER SCHOOL IN A 25,610 SQUARE FOOT PORTION OF AN EXISTING INDUSTRIAL BUILDING LOCATED WITHIN THE MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL (R-3-10) ZONE.
LOCATION/APN:
520 E. CARMEL STREET / APN: 220-250-16-00
CASE NUMBER:
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (CUP24-0003) AND CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION (EX) 25-031
Body
Recommendation
Recommendation
ADOPT AND APPROVE the following in the order set forth below:
1. ADOPT Notice of Exemption (EX 25-031); and
2. APPROVE Resolution No. PC 25-5147 (Conditional Use Permit CUP24-0003) to allow the continued operation of a 200-student charter school in a 25,610 square foot portion of an existing industrial building located in the Multifamily Residential (R-3-10) Zone.
Body
Introduction
The applicant is requesting approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to continue the operation of a charter school within a 25,610 square foot portion of an existing industrial building. The project site is located on the east side of Hill Street, at the terminus of E. Carmel Street, north of E. Barham Drive. The project site has a general plan land use designation of Medium Density Residential 2 (MDR2), which allows for a residential density of 15.1 to 20.0 dwelling units per acre and a Zoning designation of Multifamily Residential 3 (R-3-10). The proposed CUP would approve the continued operation of the charter school for an additional 10 year-period from the date of this approval.
Discussion
The project site is currently made up of one parcel totaling 4.93 acres. The proposed charter school use is classified as a “school” pursuant to the San Marcos Municipal Code (SMMC) Section 20.215.140. A school is allowed in the R-3-10 Zone with approval of a CUP. The site is currently developed with 41,830 square foot industrial building, student recreation area, parking lot, and a partially paved outdoor storage yard. Recently completed improvements on the site include new parking, a newly installed driveway, landscaping, trash enclosure and street improvements. The project site is currently developed with a perimeter fence of up to eight feet in height which was approved as part of the original CUP (CUP19-0006), pursuant to SMMC Section 20.335.030(F).
CUP 19-0006 allowed the existing building to be used as a school and warehouse. Prior to 2012, the project site was zoned Industrial (I), which allowed for manufacturing. As part of the 2012 General Plan update, the project site was rezoned to R-3-10, which was an expansion of the existing R-3-10 zoning district to the south and east of the project site. As a result of the zone change to R-3-10, the existing industrial use and structure were classified as “nonconforming,” although classified as nonconforming in 2012, the operation of the existing industrial use of the building continued uninterrupted. In 2017, the industrial use of the building was discontinued, and the building was vacated. The reuse of the nonconforming structure with a conforming land use is allowed per SMMC Section 20.345.050 (Nonconforming Uses and Structures) and the continuation of the charter school is a permitted use with CUP approval per SMMC Section 20.215.040 (Allowable Residential) and SMMC Table 20.215-2 (Residential District Use Classifications).
Baypoint Preparatory Academy (“Baypoint”) has operated in the city since 2005 in various locations and under the prior name, Bayshore Preparatory Academy. Baypoint is a 501C(3) nonprofit organization chartered through the State of California and authorized for instruction through the year 2026, thereafter, the school will submit a renewal application for an additional seven-year term in the fall of 2026. The proposed project will continue to utilize a 25,610 square foot portion of an existing 41,830 square foot industrial building as a charter school for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through eighth (8) grade. The school currently has a maximum enrollment of 200 students, divided into 10 classrooms with no more than 20 students per classroom and up to 20 staff members onsite. Under this Conditional Use Permit, the remaining portion of the building will continue to be limited to use as storage and any educational uses of this space are prohibited. Additionally, the school has plans to utilize a 20,000 square foot outdoor area in the rear of the building (east side) as a playground, which was approved with the previous CUP. This CUP approval would continue to allow the outdoor recreation area in the rear.
CUP 19-0006, allowed several changes to the building and site, including painting the clad and corrugated metal siding exterior of the building, the installation of a new driveway, striping for new parking, and landscaping. Additionally, the project installed a segment of curb, gutter, and sidewalk improvements along the Hill Drive (E. Carmel Drive) project frontage, extending the existing sidewalk north, to the proposed onsite ADA accessible ramp. The project also included enhancements to the existing landscaping and fence segment along the project frontage of Hill Drive (E. Carmel Street), with an eight-foot-high safety fence constructed of tubular steel. The northern section of the property has been expanded with an additional parking area with trees installed within the parking diamonds, and additional landscaping to screen the parking and site from public view along SR-78. The existing landscaping includes a mixture of trees, shrubs, and ground cover including, but not limited to, Olea Europa (Swan Hill), Agonis Flexuosa (peppermint tree), and Cercis Occidentalis (Western Redbud) tree species. The existing landscaping was approved under Landscape Permit (LP21-00003), and the on-going maintenance of the landscaping is subject to the project conditions of approval.
Pursuant to SMMC Section 20.340.040, elementary schools are required to provide 1.5 parking spaces per classroom plus one space per every two employees and 1 space for every 75 square feet of multipurpose room. The project is required to provide a total of 43 parking spaces (10 classrooms, up to 20 staff, and a 1,321 square foot cafeteria), and the requirement is met with the existing 58 parking spaces with six of the spaces designated for clean air vehicle parking per California Green Code.
The school currently has staggered start and end times for TK-3rd grade (7:30 am to 3:00 pm) and 4th-8th grade (8:00 am to 3:30 pm). Prior to the installation of a three-way stop at the entrance to the site, the school implemented two additional programs to manage traffic and prevent off-site parking: (1) a “curbside pick-up and drop-off” program requires parents/guardians to queue on-site and students are loaded/unloaded from vehicles by school staff at the building entrance, and (2) a “six-to-six” program where a minimum of 30% of students were to be dropped off at 6:00 am and released at 6:00 pm. With the installation of the three-way stop, the City’s Traffic division has determined that the “six-to-six” program requirement can be removed. The school is only required to implement the “curbside pick-up and drop-off” program.
Environmental Review
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the City finds that the proposed project, a continuation of the existing charter school, is Categorically Exempt from CEQA, pursuant to Section 15301, Class I (Existing Facility with No Expansion) as the facility is existing and no expansion is proposed that would negatively impact the site or environment.
Public Comment
A notice of application was circulated at the time the project application was filed. No public comments were received.
Attachment(s)
Adopting Resolution:
1. RESOLUTION PC 25-5147 (CUP24-0003): A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS APPROVING A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW THE CONTINUED OPERATION OF A 200 STUDENT CHARTER SCHOOL IN A 25,610 SQUARE FOOT PORTION OF AN EXISTING INDUSTRIAL BUILDING LOCATED WITHIN THE MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL (R-3-10) ZONE.
A. Vicinity Map
B. Requested Entitlements
C. Site & Project Characteristics
D. Operations and Management Plan with Past Staff Report & Conditions of Approval
E. Notice of Exemption (EX 25-031)
F. Project Plans
Prepared by: Sam Dominguez, Associate Planner (Project Planner)
Reviewed by: Scott Nightingale, Principal Planner
Reviewed by: Kyrenne Chua, Principal Civil Engineer
Submitted by: Joe Farace, Planning Division Director