Kamiak Elementary: Road issue delays decision on school permit

Pullman residents packed the council chambers at Pullman City Hall Thursday night to speak to the city's Board of Adjustment as the board reviewed Pullman School District's application for a conditional use permit for its fourth elementary school.

Nearly all of those present were in favor of the construction of the school, but concern arose amongst the citizens about the school having only one access road. Those speaking to this concern asked the board to not approve the application if a secondary access road was not included in the plans.

“I think it will be a monumental mistake to move forward with such a huge safety risk,” said Sarah Chapman, speaking in opposition to the permit proposal for the elementary school which she said she otherwise supports.

Chapman, prior to the meeting, started an online petition mandating two access roads to Kamiak Elementary. Her petition, as of Jan. 19, had collected 121 signatures and several comments. The petition led to Board of Adjustment member Brandon Chapman, her husband, recusing himself from the meeting because of the petition potentially being a conflict of interest.

After two-and-a-half hours of testimony, the board was unable to reach a decision and voted unanimously to continue the meeting to Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers.

“It's an interesting dilemma,” said Craig Beaumont, a board member, after hearing several testimonies for and against the application. “I would have expected a project of this magnitude, this cost, that we wouldn't be haggling about 350 feet of road.”

Those speaking in opposition to the application asked the board to require the school to extend Terre View Drive to connect with Greyhound Way prior to the opening of the school.

As the plans are now, the school will have one ingress and one egress, which is Terre View Drive. Greyhound Way serves Pullman High School, and is actually the only access point for that school.

Residents speaking for the road said that although one school is already served by only one access point, it does not mean a second school should be as well.

“We're so excited to have a new school so close to our house,” said Shilo Sprouse, who lives on Canyon View Drive near Pullman High School. “I would ask that the board approve it with the condition that Greyhound connects to Terre View. We've endured the high school being on a dead end for years. Just because we have the precedent of the school being on a dead end does not mean it is a best practice.”

Sprouse, who also works in the city public works department, said he even estimated the cost of connecting the two streets to loop around the school. Stating that he had “erred on the higher side,” he estimated that it would cost approximately $350,000 to construct the road.

“That's less than 1.5 percent of the bond that we passed to build this school,” he said. “If approved without conditions, then our new Kamiak Elementary could be on a dead end indefinitely.”

Sarah Chapman said connecting the two roads would make the access safer at both schools in the event of an emergency.

“Why won't we plan for the worst case scenario and hope for the best?” she asked. “If we can make two of our schools safer with one move, then why aren't we acting?”

City Planning Director Pete Dickinson, prior to the opening of the public comment period, said the planning staff said they “do not believe it is appropriate to require a second access prior to occupation.” He noted that there is a potential subdivision in the works at Canyon View Drive, which is adjacent to the high school. Eventually, he said, Canyon View will connect with Terre View as more homes are constructed there.

“Canyon View Drive access could be started later this year with the subdivision in works,” said Dickinson.

When asked for a timeline of when that road could be completed, Dickinson said the timing is uncertain.

“If the subdivision is approved by the city council in March, then construction could begin as early as this year,” he said. “It depends on how long it takes to sell those lots though for when it will be built. The thought is they will be desirable because of the elementary school. A reasonable ballpark estimate is two to five years.”

Ned Warnick, architect with DesignWest, the company working with the school, said requiring the school to build an access road – either via Canyon View or Greyhound – would be an undue burden.

“The extension of Terre View to Greyhound Way is a good thing. It is a long-term city project,” he said. “It is unreasonable to expect for this particular project to do it.”

Warnick also noted that Pullman High School has operated fine with only one access point.

“The high school has been on a dead end for 42 years,” he said. “It is possible to have a school and operate a school on a dead end.”

Pullman Superintendent Bob Maxwell asked the board to approve the permit with no additional conditions.

“Our citizens have graciously voted and supported the need for Kamiak Elementary,” he said. “We have existing schools with one entry, and eventually Terre View is slotted to connect with Greyhound. If that were to hold up our conditional use permit, I'm afraid we won't be able to build Kamiak Elementary at all.”

Maxwell said he had concerns about funding and the acquisition of more property if it was required for the district to include the road in its project.

“We do not own that land,” he said, citing the land adjacent to the school property where the road would be. “That would be a severe burden to the school.”

Maxwell noted Pullman School District voters in February 2016 approved a $23.5 million bond for the construction of the school. Maxwell said the bond issue has an expiration date of three years, and the district is already one year into that timeline.

“We need this school now. To delay it further could cost our funding for this project, guaranteeing overcrowding of our schools,” he added.

Maxwell said the district hopes to have the school open in 2018.

“We're on a very aggressive building schedule,” he said, noting the project has already been delayed by the severe winter.

After Maxwell spoke, Sprouse added more comment.

“We have an opportunity tonight to make sure we're not talking about traffic issues with Kamiak Elementary School,” he said.

Police and fire representatives also spoke about concern for the road. Sheriff Brett Myers said he remembered when the Board of Adjustment had to consider the conditional use permit for Wal-Mart.

“The board required two points of access for Wal-Mart,” said Myers. “If it was a stipulation for Wal-Mart, we should consider it for schools.”

Myers said he was speaking on the neutral side of the issue.

Police Chief Gary Jenkins, who previously told the Gazette he would prefer to see Terre View and Greyhound connected, also spoke on the neutral side.

“I have the same concerns with Pullman High School as I do with Kamiak Elementary School,” he said. “It was different times when Pullman High School was built.”

Jenkins, along with Fire Chief Mike Heston, said the school is required to have a temporary access gravel road for the construction. Both said they would be comfortable with that serving as an access point, so long as there were plans to either extend Greyhound or Canyon View.

Sarah Chapman responded to that approach.

“I feel if the police chief and fire chief are both comfortable with a temporary access road, then that would be acceptable,” she said. “But I would also like to see a very firm timeline.”

Board member Pam Harbour pointed out that it would be difficult to establish a firm timeline when “you don't own the property.”

When it came time for making the decision, the board could not come to a conclusion.

“In good conscience, I couldn't turn down the school district,” said Harbour. “But I think there should be some stipulations. I think they should have that secondary access temporary gravel road.”

Prior to ending the meeting, board chair Michael Kallaher reopened the public comment period to allow people to come forward with questions they would like the city to answer before the next meeting.

Questions mostly centered around the road, with residents asking the city and school board to investigate the cost of a gravel road versus a developed road, as well as the cost of extending Greyhound versus Canyon View. Other questions included the bond money timeline and concerns two adjacent homeowners raised over flood mitigation.

Dickinson said he will work with the planning department to answer those questions and bring them before the Board of Adjustment Feb. 2. The meeting is slated for 7:30 p.m. in the Pullman City Council chambers, and the meeting will again be open to the public, though there may not be a public comment period during the continuation.