Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy’s enrollment receives boost

Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy may now teach up to 425 students, after the La Cañada Flintridge Planning Commission voted Monday to amend a 1994 permit that capped the all-girl private school’s enrollment at 385 students.

School representatives and neighbors packed City Hall for the special meeting, held over from a regular Jan. 12 commission meeting at the school’s request.

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Many were there to speak favorably on their relationship with FSHA and show support for its leadership at a time when a neighborhood group calling itself Protect LCF is legally opposing parts of a larger master plan expansion by the school, still under review by the city.

Susan Koleda, La Cañada’s deputy director of community development, explained that the 385 student cap was based on Flintridge Sacred Heart’s enrollment when it secured a conditional use permit (CUP) from the city.

“That cap was not put in place, in any way, as a mitigation measure that was designed to reduce the environmental impact of the approval back in 1994,” Koleda clarified.

In November, the city conducted a traffic impact analysis in the vicinity to determine the impact of the school on neighboring streets during peak traffic hours as well as school pick-up and drop-off times, and what the effects of an enrollment increase might be.

Because it was deemed the addition of 40 students would not negatively affect the surrounding environment, the city issued a draft negative declaration document in December and allowed members of the public to comment on the proposed increase.

Among the seven comments received — mainly from individual neighbors, the city of Glendale and the firm representing Protect LCF members — concerns largely centered around any type of traffic increase.

At Monday’s meeting, Carmela Grahn, chief financial officer for the school, shared with commissioners several efforts undertaken by the campus in recent years to alleviate traffic concerns in and around the school grounds, including the 2013 implementation of a traffic management plan.

“Traffic in the a.m. peak hour has been reduced by over 50%,” said Grahn, also a project manager for the master plan. “All of our students are required to register how they commute to school, and we also today have almost 100 students riding the bus, we have 60 students walking and virtually the remainder carpool.”

Charlie Kenny, who lives near the campus on St. Katherine Drive, said the school has been a great neighbor for the past 35 years, sharing its campus and notifying residents of situations that might impact the neighborhood. He said he hoped members of Protect LCF were in the audience listening to his and other testimonials.

“I want them to hear firsthand what good neighbors do and how good neighbors behave,” Kenny said. “Sacred Heart is a good neighbor — I think it’s time for me to step up and help my neighbor, who has helped us.”

At the crux of the argument is an environmental impact report submitted in July 2014, which detailed a master plan calling for a renovation of classes and the construction of an arts and humanities building as well as a 99,000-square-foot parking structure.

Since its submission, opponents have challenged several sections of the plan and used past documentation to argue FSHA’s compliance with current permits.

But on Monday, commissioners agreed 4-0 (Arun Jain was absent) to approve the enrollment increase. Commissioner Mike Hazen praised school officials and neighbors for working together to reach a mutual agreement on traffic issues.

“Based on the fact that everybody’s ‘Kumbaya’ right now, I can totally support the findings to approve the CUP and the negative declaration,” he said.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine