Plans for New Hope Montessori School surface again; public hearing canceled

What once seemed like a plan for a new school in Maricopa that was dead in its tracks has again emerged. But just when city council will get to partake in the discussions is up in the air.

At the next city council meeting (Oct. 16), a public hearing was originally slated to be held regarding the proposed New Hope Montessori School. That hearing, though, has now been scrubbed.

According to City of Maricopa Public Affairs Manager Jennifer Grentz, the public hearing will officially be canceled at the meeting by council. Grentz said the hearing will be canceled because the public hearing process was not complete.

It was in early September that Shannon and Kari Johns backed away from plans to build the school after running into what they felt was a lack of cooperation from the city.

In a letter to city officials on Sept. 13, the Johns’ requested to formally withdraw the conditional use permit and the site plan applications for Montessori School from further consideration and review by the City of Maricopa.

In a change of heart not too long after, Shannon Johns said there were hopes once again for the school.

According to a memorandum from Kazi Haque, senior planner for the city, per statutory requirements, the request for the conditional use permit, which requires a public hearing was advertised and placed on council’s agenda for the Oct. 16 meeting.

Haque, however, said that since the case had been officially withdrawn, the public hearing notifications process, for example, posting of the public hearing notice on the site, mailing to adjacent property owners, etc. were not completed by staff to meet the statutory requirements. As such, Haque said the public hearing could be canceled without having to open it up for discussion or comments, unless the council desires otherwise. According to Haque, staff recommended that the public hearing be canceled at this time.

Haque said that since the withdrawal letter was sent to the city, the applicant, Shannon Johns had changed his mind and requested that this case be reinstated for review and approval once again. This will require a new public hearing and all the statutory notifications requirements must be met before this case can be placed as an agenda item in the future. Haque said staff will notify city council of this public hearing once the date has been confirmed.

New Hope Montessori School is seeking approval of a conditional use permit and a site plan for two temporary modular buildings for a daycare facility (Montessori School). The school would be situated at the northwest corner of Wilson and Lexington Avenues and designated in the general plan as a special planning area. The site is presently zoned general rural, which allows for a single family residential dwelling unit (min. 1.25 acres).

If the request is approved, Shannon and Kari Johns are requesting a duration of three years for the conditional use permit before the permanent building site will be constructed.

The couple originally said that added costs required by the city to construct half street improvements prior to opening would not be financially feasible to operate a business.

Shannon Johns earlier told inmaricopa.com that he was “surprised to see that council took more of a serious look at their situation than what the city’s planning and development department had done. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to get more options here in Maricopa for preschool education. Hopefully, we can get it through,” Johns said.

Originally, the couple thought they could file for a temporary use permit but were later told to file for a conditional use, being led to believe that perhaps they could place the half-street issue on as a condition to be met at a later date.

After a recent council meeting, Shannon Johns said he spoke with a few of the council members as well as Amy Haberbosch (planning director) to see what the couple could do to get this approved.