Permit for Girls School OKd After 2-Year Debate
Capping a two-year debate in Brentwood, the Los Angeles Office of Zoning Administration on Friday approved a conditional use permit to convert a 67-year-old nursing home into a girls school.
The permit allows Archer School for Girls to move into the historic Eastern Star home pending compliance with 50 conditions, said associate zoning administrator Daniel Green.
The stipulations address residents’ fears that the school would increase traffic and noise problems when it moves from Pacific Palisades to the property at 11725 Sunset Blvd., Green said.
When the school purchased the Spanish Colonial Revival-style building for $15 million and announced plans to build a 45-foot gymnasium and soccer field on a vacant lot, homeowners living north of the proposed campus vigorously objected.
Supporters said it was perhaps the city’s last chance to preserve the building.
Green ruled that the gym could only be 36 feet tall and that no lighting or sound system could be used on the athletic field. He also stipulated that half of the students must ride buses and that the remainder must carpool with at least three people.
Arlene Hogan, head of the school, said it plans to move to the new site by January.
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