Staff Reports | Rose Law Group Reporter
The Scottsdale Planning Commission Wednesday night voted unanimously to recommend approval of necessary abandonments for the BASIS Scottsdale school to build at the southeast corner of 128th Street and Shea.
Abandonments of general land office patent easements and unnecessary right of way are routine procedures, and the applicant, represented by Jordan Rose of Rose Law Group, showed a presentation pointing to dozens of similar abandonments being approved adjacent to and nearby the site.
“This is possibly the most well-supported administrative abandonment in the history of . . . planet earth,” said Rose
While the abandonment process is routine, more than 200 supporters attended the hearing wearing “We Love BASIS” stickers because some nearby residents have indicated they will try to do whatever is possible to stop the school from opening at this site.
The supporters were a mix of BASIS Scottsdale parents, students, and Scottsdale residents who supports the expansion and Arizonans who support the mission of BASIS.
City staff provided the commission a copy of approximately 400 letters in support and 20 letters in opposition. Only one member of the public spoke out against the project, saying she was worried about the safety of the surrounding roadways with the additional traffic.
City engineering staff indicated the city would require BASIS to make a number of roadway improvements and install a traffic signal at 128th Street and Shea. The city mentioned BASIS would be 100 percent responsible for the costs of these improvements. Rose emphasized the city, neighbors and BASIS could agree to do whatever is necessary to make the site as safe and easy to access as possible. Rose said the traffic studies show the required traffic mitigation measures should make the traffic situation in the area safer than it is today.
Supporters spoke about the pride Scottsdale has in being home to BASIS, which is ranked the number one and two public charter school in the nation. One neighbor to the current BASIS Scottsdale location at 136th and Via Linda indicated he had found BASIS to handle traffic in a way that never caused excessive delays. Five people who lived within a mile of the 128th Street and Shea BASIS site spoke of their support for the school, citing rising property values as a result of a “world-class” school locating nearby.
The abandonment must also be approved by the Scottsdale City Council, which will hear the case February 9.
Jamie Blakeman of J-2 Engineering serves as the traffic engineer. Phillip Carhuff is the architect. Jennifer Hall and Nick Labadie are the Rose Law Group senior planners on the case, and RLG senior partner Court Rich is also working on the case for BASIS.
