Politics & Government

Belmont City Council In Favor of Hillsborough School Expansion

Crystal Springs Uplands School is looking to expand from its Hillsborough location and build a middle school in Belmont.

The Belmont City Council on Tuesday night overwhelmingly supported plans to construct a new private middle school in Belmont as an extension of a Hillsborough education system.

Crystal Springs Uplands School, located in Hillsborough, is hoping to expand by adding a 60,000-square-foot middle school campus at 6, 8 and 10 Davis Drive, according to staff reports.

The school enrolls students in six through twelfth grades, and should the school move forward with Belmont site, the Hillsborough campus would just house high school students.

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Council members discussed a preliminary design review from the school on Tuesday night and heard from school officials. The Planning Commission will be the next to take a look at the plans and will then recommend the city council either approve or deny the review.

“I think the wonderful thing about starting something new is you’ve got the opportunity to get it right,” Council Member Warren Lieberman said. “There are clearly a number of wonderful synergies between the school and community in terms of what we could each give each other.”

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The project would include demolishing the existing buildings and parking areas at the site, and building a new campus for 216 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, as well as a parking lot, a gym and an all-weather playing field.

Although the school would be property tax exempt, the city could benefit in other ways with the addition of the school. Crystal Springs Board President Dan Rudolph told the council the school would plan to share the field and possibly the indoor gym with Belmont, to the delight of the council.

“I like the idea of addressing revenue issues,” Council Member Christine Wozniak said. “It’s nice when the schools offer to provide services, [like ] access to sports fields.”

A formal pick-up and drop-off program for students hasn’t yet been submitted, but traffic was the main concern for most of the council members.

“The only concern I have is the amount of traffic when Ralston starts,” Vice Mayor Dave Warden said. “There’s still a tremendous amount of traffic right in that 8:15 – 8:30 window,” he said of the area near Ralston Middle School.

Wozniak echoed Warden’s concerns, saying as a former Ralston parent she knows how clogged the roadways can get at the beginning of the school day.

Overall, however, the council overwhelmingly voiced support of the project.

“Two of the key issues are revenue and enabling the community,” Lieberman said. “From my perspective, this could be a fantastic – if it’s done right – addition to the community.”

“I like everything about it,” Mayor Coralin Feierbach said. “I like the field use, I like that there’s school coming to Belmont. I really approve.”


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