The Sugar Land Planning and Zoning Commission on July 24 opened a public hearing and discussed a conditional use permit (CUP) application from Fort Bend Christian Academy to add an approximately 11,000-square-foot, single-story annex to its lower/middle school campus at 1201 Lakeview Drive. Staff presented the application, the commission heard four school representatives and three school employees during public comment, and the commission did not take formal action; consideration is expected at the Aug. 12 meeting.

The proposed annex is designed to provide eight classrooms and two administrative offices and would allow the school to host seventh- and eighth-grade students on the lower campus rather than continuing to house multiple middle grades on the existing second floor, the applicant said. Staff described the site as about 21.52 acres in the Brown and Belknap League A-15 and noted the property is zoned Business Office (B.O.) with surrounding uses that include churches, assisted-living facilities, a Fort Bend County library and a City of Sugar Land water plant.

Jessica, the planning staff member presenting the item, told commissioners the CUP process is required in the city’s nonresidential districts for schools and is intended to review compatibility, traffic, noise and other potential impacts. Staff recommended conditions that could be included in a commission recommendation to city council: develop the site according to the attached overall site plan; require traffic flow and vehicular stacking to comply with the attached circulation plan; maintain the drop-off and pick-up times shown on the plan; continue to contract with off-duty police officers to enforce turn restrictions and queuing; and set a maximum lower/middle-school enrollment of 570 students. Staff also noted a prior CUP granted in 2001 for the existing lower school.

Jim Brown, president of the Fort Bend Christian Academy Board of Trustees, said the annex is intended to “improve student life” by giving middle-school students age-appropriate spaces and to decongest second-floor hallways. Brown told the commission the project is not intended to drive major enrollment growth: “we would not want to grow beyond 75 students in each of those grade levels,” and the board’s targeted lower/middle-school capacity would move from about 530 to 570 students under the proposal. Brown also said the school plans to continue contracting off-duty law-enforcement officers for traffic control.

School staff who addressed the commission emphasized developmental and operational needs. Mindy Stubbs, a middle-school counselor, described the difference in student developmental needs and asked commissioners to support separating younger (fifth/sixth grade) students from older (seventh/eighth grade) students with dedicated spaces. Shelly Pizzitola, also a middle-school counselor, said separation would protect younger students from inappropriate exposure and allow age-appropriate social programming. Linda Wright, a seventh-grade teacher, said shared classrooms make private conferences and after-school activities difficult and urged approval to provide stable classroom space for teachers.

Traffic was the primary focus of commission questions. Jason Pong, Traffic Engineering Manager for the city, summarized findings from the school’s traffic impact analysis and on-site circulation plan: existing peak queuing on Gillingham Lane measured as about 740 feet on average (the dedicated right-turn storage lane is about 370 feet), and the consultant’s analysis showed existing on-street queuing of about 1,100 feet. The school’s proposed circulation modifications — shifting dismissal and pick-up times, converting a parking area to a queuing lane after 2 p.m., and adding an on‑site fourth queuing lane — were presented as reducing the consultant’s measured overall on-street queuing from roughly 1,100 feet to about 700 feet, which the consultant estimated would leave queuing just slightly past the dedicated right-turn lane. Commissioners discussed whether a police officer must be specified in a condition or whether more-generic traffic-control language would be acceptable; the school said it intends to continue using off-duty officers.

No one spoke in opposition during the hearing; staff said mailed notices were sent to property owners within 200 feet (about 17 properties), the notice was published and a courtesy sign was posted. The commission’s role on Aug. 12 will be to consider a recommendation to city council; city council will make final determinations on any CUP and its conditions.