Planners Table Day School Application

The Fredericksburg Planning Commission took no action on a new special use permit application to operate a day school for mentally disabled children at Calvary Christian Center. The delay means that the City Council, which must approve all special use permits, will likely be unable to decide on the matter before the anticipated start of school year. 

Calvary Christian Center is currently engaged in a over a similar day school application was denied by the City Council late last year. The pastor of Calvary Christian Center, Michael Hirsch, said that his church's

With that in mind, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley urged the Planning Commission to take action on the item tonight so that it could be forwarded to the City Council for approval in time for the start of the school year. 

The Planning Commission will vote on the matter at its next meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 4 p.m. The City Council has already advertised a public hearing on the matter for its Aug. 23 meeting, but without the recommendation of the Planning Commission the City Council is unlikely to vote on the matter. 

Planning Commissioner Sean Lawrence was reluctant to move forward with the application, saying it would violate a recently agreed upon informal rule against moving on an item after a first read in instances when the measure has attracted opposition during the public hearing.

"I am concerned that this is trying to be pushed down our throats," said Lawrence. "I can understand the importance of it, but I do not believe that if they don't open on the Tuesday after Labor Day all will be lost."

Last year the church saw a similar application to operate a day school for mentally and emotionally disabled children defeated in an unusual 3-3 tie, with dissenting members of the City Council expressing concerns over possible conflicts erupting between the students at the day school and those attending a before and after school day care at the same facility. This led Calvary Christian Center to sue the city for discrimination on a number of grounds, including that city officials unfairly singled out the disabled in their reasoning to deny. 

But there are some key differences between the new application and the old one. For instance, the original application was made on behalf of Fairwinds Day School specifically to serve children with mental and emotional disabilities. However, the new application is made only on behalf of the church. It also does not specify who will operate the school, saying only that it will serve 12 students, down from 18 in the original application, between the ages of eight and 15. 

Fairwinds had attracted criticism from members of the City Council for a history of zoning violations in Fredericksburg.

Hirsch says that if the new permit is granted, his church would be able to host any school certified by the Virginia Board of Education. He says he has received interest from a number of schools.