|
roUncil says. no to Kachina
<br />Upholds commission's decision to deny campus expansion
<br />By KELLY PARENT P. \J. I fl~/ oo council after being unanimously
<br />Independent Newspapers turned down by the Planning
<br />me. Shame on you back there," Ms.
<br />Simpson said to an audience mem-
<br />ber
<br />Kachina Country Day School
<br />plans to expand its Paradise Valley
<br />campus reached a dead end Jan. 6.
<br />Town Council voted unanimously
<br />to deny the school's addition of a
<br />pool property, among other changes.
<br />However, the Town will allow
<br />Kachina to resubmit revised plans
<br />before the normal one-year waiting
<br />period.
<br />The decision was passed to the
<br />• COUNCIL
<br />Council rejected the proposed
<br />plans pointing the school exceeded
<br />its enrollment cap.
<br />Traffic problems stemming from
<br />high enrollment and inadequate
<br />sp~ :::e were also attributed to the
<br />deniaL
<br />1'he added parcel, would have
<br />allowed the school use of a pool,
<br />horse corral and bathhouse:
<br />Additional parking would also be
<br />constructed, both on the northerly
<br />added parcel and within current
<br />boundaries.
<br />Many questions and issues were
<br />· brought up throughout the meeting
<br />by opposing views that sometimes
<br />confused the council on what the
<br />school's plans were, including the
<br />question of floor plans.
<br />There was also a question raised
<br />whether there was a floor plan for
<br />bathing facilities given to the plan-
<br />ning commission and not passed
<br />onto the Town council which
<br />Kachina's attorney said should
<br />have been passed on to the council
<br />after being given to the commis-
<br />sion.
<br />Town Planner Neal Pascoe said
<br />the only floor plans they received
<br />at an earlier date described a mod-
<br />····------~---· ---· -----------
<br />Commission on Dec. 21.
<br />As the council began to render its
<br />decision, emotions began to flare on
<br />both sides of the issue.
<br />"There's been a lot of progress
<br />made, to start piece mealing it is bad
<br />policy," councilmember Jini
<br />Simpson said before the council
<br />voted. "I would hope that all this
<br />time isn't wasted. No one here is
<br />anti-education.
<br />"Please don't shake your head at
<br />"It's true," the person responded.
<br />Kachina was attempting to add a
<br />1.7-acre property with a pool and
<br />redefine the way students are count-
<br />ed. School officials were attempting
<br />to count enrollment by how many
<br />students are on campus at any given
<br />time of the day instead of total
<br />enrollment.
<br />See • COUNCIL, Page 12
<br />I think you're getting real close. These items can be worked out,:"
<br />Councilmember Bernie Barry
<br />on Kachina Country Day School's failed expansion
<br />/ From Page 1 ·
<br />ally. pushed the-envelope and
<br />pu~hed and pushed," said resident
<br />Bruce Lavachek who opposed the
<br />SUP.
<br />Neighbors complaints ranged
<br />fro'm expansion of the land, enroii-
<br />IT!ent, noise and '• increased traffic
<br />problems.·
<br />est expansion with a couple of
<br />patio covers.
<br />Kachina attorney, Nick Wood,
<br />pleaded to the council if they don't
<br />approve anything to approve the
<br />enrollment on any given day that
<br />would allow the school to keep its
<br />current preschool enrollment. The
<br />current status in the preschool is
<br />}here was also the issue of the
<br />that age in school," said coun-Town's general plan discouraging .
<br />cilmember Simpson. r~si'dential land being turned into._
<br />Mr. Wood also made the point if commercial. It was . debated
<br />. all of the children came to school whether the school was to be con-
<br />and left at the same time the traffic sidered commercial.
<br />would increase causing a problem. "It's not," responded Mr. Wood.
<br />. Neighbors of the school who In the council's decision to deny,
<br />children attending on
<br />Tuesday/Thursday and
<br />Monday/Wednesday/Friday.
<br />He told the council other area
<br />schools have policy of counting
<br />children at any given time in a
<br />given day.
<br />oppose the SUP being passed said they decided it wouldn't be fair. to
<br />they did not want to be portrayed · residents to decide on parts of the .
<br />as anti-education, pointing out the issue and make the ,decision as
<br />school somehow changed when it whole, reiterating to the school that
<br />was changed to a charter in 1995. with some revisions, they could
<br />But representatives from the eventually work the problems out.
<br />school claimed that nothiag has "We need to take a deep breath at
<br />changed including enrollment. this time," said Town Mayor Ed
<br />"We want to be treated the
<br />same," said Mr. Wood.
<br />One school representative said Lowry, adding that a new plan
<br />the residents oppose the school needs to be worked on and submit-
<br />expansion because they don't want ted.
<br />Councilmember Ed Winkler
<br />wanted to know how two-year-olds
<br />could attend preschool and it not
<br />be considered daycare.
<br />to keep bringing in students from "I'm of the opinion there's day-
<br />outside areas into "their lily-white care going on at the school if there
<br />comrimnity." are two-year-olds attending," said
<br />"We're listening to a smoke councilmember Winkler.
<br />"It's not uncommon to have kids screen. The ownership has continu-"I think you're getting real
<br />D PARADISE v ALLE_Y
<br />g • 1/tt.t[c>o rnput sougHt on uses
<br />for i v~~t parcels
<br />.iembers of the Village Plan-
<br />nmg Committee are urging resi-
<br />dents and business owners near
<br />Tatum and Shea boulevards to
<br />s~y. their piece about what to do
<br />With three vacant parcels.
<br />A five-member subcommittee
<br />studying the area says it wants to
<br />ensure that everyone affected by
<br />possible development on the
<br />3 acres on the west side of Thtum
<br />be~ween Clinton Street and Shan-
<br />gn-La Road have their say.
<br />I!lvitations will be extended to
<br />residents and business owners as
<br />far south as Shea, east to 50th
<br />Street, north to Altadena Avenue
<br />and west to 45th Way. ·
<br />The issue is to be discussed at
<br />7 p.m. Feb. 22 at Paradise Valley
<br />Community Center, 17402 N. 40th
<br />St., Phoenix.
<br />' close," said councilmember Bernie
<br />Barry to Kachina representatives.
<br />"These items can be worked out."
<br />Red-light cameras
<br />send signal for more
<br />By Christina Leonard
<br />The Arizona Republic
<br />'/t"!Jfoo
<br />Big brother is working ..
<br />Federal traffic officials say
<br />those high-tech automatic cam-
<br />eras at red lights have resulted in
<br />up to a 60 percent reduction in
<br />violations. That means. more of
<br />them could be coming to an
<br />intersection near you.
<br />"You will see a trend of more
<br />red-light cameras," Tempe police
<br />Sgt. Randy Fougner said. "It's a
<br />very efficient use of money, and
<br />it's helping people become more
<br />aware of their driving behavior."
<br />Although the government's
<br />blessing is a nice validation for
<br />Valley cities that have already
<br />spent thousands on the gizmos,
<br />officials say they're not sur-
<br />prised. Paradise Valley, Sco_us-
<br />dale, Mesa and Tempe use lhe
<br />(~-'
<br />red-light cameras. Chandler and
<br />Phoenix, _ the nation's No. 1 city
<br />for red-light runners, are getting
<br />ready to install them.
<br />The cameras have snapped the
<br />photos of chronic light-runners,
<br />captured accidents on film and
<br />even helped nab car thieves.
<br />The Federal Highway Adminis-
<br />tration. determined that red-light
<br />cameras should translate into at
<br />least a 20 percent and as much as
<br />a 60 percent drop in violations.
<br />The report doesn't show
<br />whether the cameras reduced the
<br />number of crashes.
<br />However, here in the Valley,
<br />Scottsdale reports a 3 percent
<br />drop in crashes since 1997. And a
<br />Mesa study shows a "clear de-
<br />cline" in crashes and a reduction
<br />in injury accidents for its in-
<br />tersections equipped with cam-
<br />eras. /
<br />Jail~ lifetime probation
<br />sentence ~n molestation
<br />r.J -
<br />~
<br />By Christina Lcmprd
<br />The Arizona Republic ·
<br />tj;.:r(Do·
<br />While making his rounds at a
<br />prestigious private school, · Do-
<br />nald A. Verbeke would sneak into
<br />students' rooms at night.
<br />Sometimes . he would just
<br />watch. But other times, he would
<br />touch.
<br />On Friday, a Maricopa County
<br />judge sentenced the former secu-
<br />rity guard at the Judson School
<br />in Paradise Valley to eight
<br />months in jail and a lifetime
<br />probation for fondling students
<br />while they slept.
<br />As part of an agreement, Ver-·
<br />beke, 24, pleaded guilty to three
<br />counts· of sexual misconduct with
<br />a minor.
<br />"I feel very bad about what I
<br />did," the Mesa man told the
<br />judge Friday.· "I feel horrible for
<br />my victims and I hope they go on
<br />to lead normal, healthy lives."
<br />Verbeke's parents, employer
<br />and therapist asked thejudge for
<br />h!niency and described him as a
<br />gentle person, excellent worker
<br />and committed patient.
<br />Defense attorney .Ronald Ozer
<br />told the judge that Verbeke de-
<br />serves an exception because he
<br />had never been in trouble with
<br />the law and had even enrolled
<br />himself in sex offender counsel-
<br />ing.
<br />"This is really an aberration in::· ,
<br />Don's life," Ozer said. "He's the ..
<br />kind of person who pulls elderly: j •
<br />women out of burning buildings.", ..
<br />Judge James Keppel could·-
<br />have sentenced Verbeke to a year .. _
<br />in jail. "
<br />Paradise Valley authorities be-, . .:.
<br />gan investigating after a 17-year~."
<br />old student told school officials:::
<br />that Verbeke molested him as he ;;
<br />slept in his room at the school,
<br />6704 N. Mockingbird Lane. :"
<br />About 100 students live on the;_,
<br />coed school's 55-acre campus;_,,
<br />which features tennis courts and. ..
<br />an equestrian center. ;~,.
<br />Court records said Verbeke
<br />would enter the boys' bedi'oomg: ;
<br />in the night while making rounds;~ ..
<br />Verbeke also gave urinalysis>
<br />screenings to the boys and took ..
<br />photos of them with their shirts:,.
<br />off. He. gave money and gifts to
<br />some, the records said. · -~ .
<br />"At the time these incidents-.
<br />· occured, he would confuse the','-'
<br />boys' being naked in their beds:.:
<br />as a sign that they were recepc, ·
<br />tive to his advances," court re<~
<br />cords said. . .,
<br />Verbeke was a student at Ari-' ·
<br />zona State University and en-_
<br />gaged to be married at the time. . .
<br />1• .• -----------,--------,,,,
<br />Reach the reporter at
<br />Christina.Leonard@Arizona
<br />Republic.com or (602) 444-7972.
|