Council Hears School Noise Complaints

Noise from a private elementary school in a Westlake neighborhood has led some residents to complain to city officials about a daily deterioration of their lives.

“My greatest pleasure is to sit out in the backyard and read, but the screaming is so loud every day I want to cry,” said 87-year-old Pauline Nicholides, one of about a dozen residents who packed the City Council chambers Tuesday night.

Nancy Condello, another neighborhood resident, said the problem at Meritor Academy, owned by Colorado-based Aramark Corp., has gone on for two years. She told city officials the school was supposed to be a preschool but now it serves children up to sixth grade, adding that the noise from the basketball court has become unbearable.

“This is an inappropriate land use for a residential community,” Condello said.

Deputy City Manager Jim Friedl said the school is only permitted to serve students up to the third grade, but 18 of about 130 students at the school are older. Friedl said city code enforcement officials have given the school until Oct. 19 to comply with regulations.

But Wednesday, school officials called that timetable unrealistic and said they wanted to reach a compromise with the city and neighbors that will allow the older students to remain until June.

Kirk Engel, vice president of private schools for Meritor, said he sympathizes with the residents’ concerns. The school will immediately take measures--including building sound walls--to reduce noise, he promised.

Meanwhile, parents of Meritor students say it’s the best in the east county area, and they don’t want to see its capacity reduced before the end of the school year.

“We’ve asked Meritor to look at a new campus for the older kids, which they are doing,” said resident Catherine Cooper, who has three children who attend the school. “It’s just a question of letting the kids finish out the year, which would make it less traumatic for them.”