Prep master plan is a go, after council denies neighbor’s appeal
Flintridge Preparatory School’s master plan expansion got the go-ahead Tuesday, when the La Cañada City Council denied a neighbor’s appeal against the project, citing concerns about privacy and encroachment.
Several neighbors who live on Crown Avenue and Nancy Way attended Tuesday’s council meeting to support appellant Sally Ametrano, who’s lived for 55 years in a house now abutted on three sides by land purchased by the nonprofit private school.
Ametrano filed an appeal in response to an Oct. 16 decision by the La Cañada Flintridge Planning Commission approving permits and an environmental review for the master plan, which includes an addition to Norris Auditorium, a covered atrium to the southeast, new bleachers and 60-foot LED pole lighting on the football field.
Ametrano claimed a 17,205-square-foot Collaborative Leadership Building proposed for the northeast end of the campus — to be situated 23 feet from the property line Prep shares with 4609 Crown Ave. — would bring student foot traffic near her property and provide a clear sightline of her backyard.
“I’m opposed to the new application in its entirety,” Ametrano said, describing a long history of incremental encroachment she allowed, so long as it would not bring students near her house. “We’ve established over all these years there’s [to be] no students behind me. They’re breaking their word.”
Prep Headmaster Peter Bachmann called the interdisciplinary 21st-century learning space a crucial part of the master plan. He and project architect John Dale explained many revisions had been made to the building since the plan was first heard by planning commissioners in June. Access to the roof was removed, the height was reduced and its distance from Ametrano’s property line increased.
Dale said additional concessions were made after talking with the appellant and her daughter, Michelle Ametrano. Second-floor windows were reduced and their panes could be obscured. The increased setback also allows for more landscaping to further screen the leadership building from view.
“We were listening, we spent long hours talking to them and we’re serious about responding to those things,” Dale said.
Michelle Ametrano said the family was working on a compromise with school officials and asked the council to continue the hearing so talks could continue. Bachmann acknowledged he’d spoken with the Ametranos about the school’s purchasing the home.
“We are in ongoing conversations about whether there might be a circumstance under which Mrs. Ametrano might want to sell the school the property,” he said. “We certainly would be happy to have it remain rent-free for a period of time.”
Ultimately, council members agreed to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision and deny Ametrano’s appeal. Prep is to submit its most recent plans to the Planning Department, so the council may pass a resolution in an upcoming meeting.
“[This] has been vetted through professionals on the Prep side. It’s also been vetted through the city staff and our professionals,” said Mayor Mike Davitt. “This project has a few challenges, and I think that Prep and hopefully the neighbors, you can work that out.”
Twitter: @SaraCardine
