Politics & Government

Live from the American Heritage Hearing

The Holly Springs Planning and Zoning Commission meets tonight at 6 to discuss a use permit for American Heritage Academy.

5:52 p.m.

There are five people here so far, most of whom say they received a rezoning letter. 

6 p.m.

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The meeting is called to order. Michael Zenchuk and John Wiegand are absent. 

6:02 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Holly Springs-Hickory Flatwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

First case: seeks a conditional use permit through the . The school, now in Canton, runs from kindergarten through 12th grade and would open in Holly Springs in August.

The staff recommendation is that the zoning is doable. It does meet the conditional use permit and would not affect the immediate area as far as traffic is concerned.

There are some logistics in the entrance and exit of the traffic.

6:05 p.m.

The application does meet conditional use permit requirements.

However, there are still concerns for about the limited room for recreational facility and traffic flow.

6:07 p.m.

The director for AHA said there will be 20 faculty members and 100 students. They project the school will grow to be 60 faculty members in the coming years.

The school and church complement each other because the school uses the building from Monday to Friday and the church uses the building on Sunday.

The AHA director said they have their own “preschool-size” buses.

6:11 p.m.

A big concern from the commission seems to be the high school juniors and seniors who drive to school.

6:12 p.m.

Gary Hansen, a commission member, notes that the church is in a 45-mph speed zone.

6:13 p.m.

Recreation activities will consist of a padded playground for the preschool.

6:14 p.m.

A citizen is asking questions about the discrepancy between the number of students given by the AHA director.

6:16 p.m.

Another citizen is speaking about the school location. This woman said she owns the land that backs up against the church and wonders about the noise and future plans of growth and the traffic.

“If people are trying to get into the church, it’s going to back down the highway.”

The resident is concerned that the playground noise will be too loud at her home.  

6:21 p.m.

The public portion of the discussion is closed. A motion to accept the application has been approved, sending the issue on to the City Council for final approval Monday.

6:23 p.m.

Meeting adjourned. 


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