Hillside School receives conditional approval for expansion

On Wednesday, March 16, the Boulder County Planning Commission reviewed a revised Hillside School's proposed expansion application, submitted on Nov. 10, 2021. The Planning Commission approved the Community Planning and Permitting staff's determination that it met all applicable criteria for the Boulder County Land Use code for Special Review and recommended that the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) conditionally approve the application.

The school described the purpose of the application, stating, "Hillside School is a 501c3 nonprofit, independent school for students with dyslexia. Founded in 2005, Hillside has helped hundreds of Boulder County students and their families by providing evidence-based

remediation for dyslexia in the areas of reading, written language, and math.

"The unique program at Hillside involves one teacher working with four students in intensive daily sessions. On average, students transition back to their traditional schools within two years. Students make tremendous academic gains during this time and grow into confident learners. Hillside School currently has a total of 32 full-time students, and admissions requests

continue to climb annually."

The school's initial application, submitted in 2020, called for a 10,500 square-foot building which would accommodate an additional 36 children in the morning session and another 36 children in the afternoon session. The current student population is 64 students, with half attending a morning session and half attending an afternoon session. If approved by the BOCC, the new enrollment cap would be 136, with the student population split between 68 morning students and 68 afternoon students. Under the initial application, the current 4,264 square-foot building would have been retained.

The revised application calls for construction of a larger 2-story building, in phase 1, and a reconstruction of the existing building in phase 2, resulting in a total of 14,238 square-feet of floor area, or slightly smaller than its original proposal would have totalled.

The school buildings will go through significant structural redesign and rebuilding. Schools are a permitted use in residential areas, and staff found that the new design is compatible with the surrounding area which consists of single-family housing and the Niwot United Methodist Church.

The school's rebuild will consist of two phases. Phase 1 will include a new one-story building to be built at the north end of the existing school, with 6,719 square feet. Phase 2 will consist of reconstruction of the existing building, resulting in a 7,519 square-foot building.

Notices were sent to the 531 homes which are adjacent to the school in both October 2020 and December 2021. According to the hearing, staff received 35 public comments from the October notice and 13 from the December notice.

Objections to the expansion ranged from lack of neighborhood compatibility, oversize building for the size of the property, and negative visual impact, to lack of scholarship opportunities for underprivileged children, loss of privacy and decreased property values.

Comments in favor of the school included support for children with learning disabilities, shared parking with United Methodist Church, support for the idea that schools in residential areas are good for the community, and the expansion will serve more families.

Several current and former students wrote in support of the proposed expansion. One student wrote, "I'm 11 years old, and I have dyslexia. Before I came to Hillside, I felt confused all the time at school. I didn't feel like I knew anything, and I didn't feel like I could do anything. It didn't feel very good. Hillside makes me feel more comfortable. They give the proper instruction. They helped me realize I can figure out how to do this. My reading has gotten better. And it's nice to know other kids who have dyslexia. If they make Hillside bigger, they can help more kids."

Some of the additional requirements the school must meet include, but are not limited to, compliance with all local, state and federal permits, proper fencing and drainage and building and drainage permits.

For a complete list and history of the schools proposed expansion go to www.boco.org/SU-20-0005.