Why are these Clovis neighbors pushing back against a school's expansion?

CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A connection to let a Clovis schoolhouse to much than treble its pupil colonisation implicit the adjacent 7 years has received push-back from those surviving nearby.

According to the City of Clovis' Assistant Planner Marissa Parker, Valley Crescent School has been situated adjacent North Sylmar Avenue and West Nees Avenue since 1995, erstwhile it was started arsenic a daycare facility.

The schoolhouse has made a bid of expansions since it was founded; Parker says the schoolhouse is present proposing an adjacent larger expansion. The connection was heard during a Clovis Planning Commission gathering connected Jan. 23.

"[Valley Crescent] are allowed to person a maximum fig of 174 students," Parker said. "They are proposing to summation that by 240 students for a full of 414."

Parker says the enlargement would besides see amenities including a two-story schoolroom gathering and a hoops court.

"We privation the schoolhouse to beryllium better," said the Chairman of the Board astatine Valley Crescent, Mohammad Ashraf. "At this peculiar time. We don't person a subject lab. We don't person a machine lab, we don't person a unit lounge."

Ashraf says the eventual extremity of the enlargement is to amended acquisition astatine Valley Crescent and adhd to Clovis' longstanding bequest of being a superior schoolhouse district.

"Clovis is known for education," Ashraf said. "Other students' parents, immoderate of them moved from different states to bargain houses successful Clovis."

But immoderate neighbors accidental that, portion they tin admit Valley Crescent's impact, they consciousness the enlargement volition pb to inconveniences and adjacent information for the assemblage astatine large.

One of those who spoke astatine the meeting, Todd Valerie, says the further students volition bring further sound and helium is unwilling to compromise his bid astatine location to accommodate Valley Crescent School.

"I cognize that I'll woody with sound during the operation phase. That's Monday done Friday, 7 [a.m.] to 7 [p.m.], and connected the weekends. I'm not looking guardant to that," Valerie said.

Valerie says the projected two-story gathering volition besides impact his privacy.

"There are full-length windows that would person to person a nonstop presumption into my backyard - that consciousness of privateness that I've enjoyed for 27 years would beryllium gone."

Valley Crescent's representatives apologized to their neighbors for putting distant their connection without consulting them, but are hopeful they tin travel to a solution that some parties tin hold on.

The Clovis City Planning Commission elected to o.k. a conditional usage licence - with the information that the exertion beryllium brought backmost aft 1 twelvemonth for review.