Subject:
Title
Green Hedges School - Discussion on Request for Modifications of Requirements
Body
Purpose:
To provide Town Council with an overview of Green Hedges School’s request for modifications of site plan requirements and update Council on the related Conditional Use Permit approval in advance of the public hearing scheduled for September 28, 2026.
Key QUESTIONS:
Not applicable. This work session is for informational purposes only; no direction or decision is requested.
BACKGROUND SUMMARY:
Green Hedges School is located at 415 Windover Avenue NW in the RS-12.5, Single-Family Detached Residential zoning district. The school has operated at this location since 1955 and, since 1964, has operated subject to an approved Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that has been amended multiple times in the subsequent decades. The property contains academic and administrative buildings, outdoor recreation areas, parking and circulation facilities, landscaped open space, and associated school facilities.
Green Hedges School submitted two interrelated applications as part of a proposed modernization of its campus:
1. To the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), for an amendment to its existing CUP to increase the maximum permitted enrollment from 190 to 210 students and the maximum number of full-time equivalent employees from 42 to 50, along with associated building, circulation, buffering, and site improvements; and
2. To the Town Council, for approval of deviations from specific development standards, called modifications of requirements, which the applicant believes are necessary to implement the proposed campus plan.
In accordance with the Town Code, the Planning Commission reviewed both applications during meetings held on January 14, January 28, and February 11, 2026. Although the applications are interrelated, the Commission considered and voted on them separately because the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) has final authority over the CUP amendment, while Town Council has final authority over the requested modifications of requirements.
On February 11, 2026, the Planning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend denial of the CUP amendment. The Commission expressed differing views regarding whether the proposed mitigation measures and conditions adequately addressed noise, traffic, operational intensity, neighborhood compatibility, and enforcement concerns.
At the same meeting, the Planning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend approval of the requested modifications of requirements, subject to conditions addressing buffering, landscaping, the relocation of a shed from a buffer area, deferred improvements, and sound mitigation.
The BZA held a public hearing on the CUP amendment on May 20, 2026. Because concerns were raised regarding public access to Town Hall during the hearing, the BZA continued the public hearing to June 17, 2026, to provide an additional opportunity for public testimony. Following the continued hearing, the BZA voted 6-1 to approve the CUP amendment with 19 conditions (Attachment 9).
The approved CUP allows enrollment to increase incrementally from 190 to a maximum of 210 students and staffing to increase incrementally from 42 to a maximum of 50 full-time equivalent employees. Enrollment may not exceed 190 students until 1) the new academic building receives an occupancy permit; 2) sound-isolation fencing, or equivalent sound-attenuation measures, is installed; and 3) required supplemental buffer vegetation is installed. The CUP conditions also address campus phasing, buffering, fencing, traffic operations, event management, tree preservation, neighborhood communication, and ongoing compliance review.
On a separate agenda item on August 24, 2026, during the Town Council Meeting, Town Council is scheduled to set September 28, 2026, as the date for its public hearing and for consideration of the associated modifications of requirements.
OVERVIEW:
The applicant requests the following modifications of requirements:
• Increase the permitted lot coverage from the previously CUP-approved 31.11 percent to 47.8 percent. The maximum lot coverage otherwise permitted for this property, whose base zone is RS-12.5 (under Section 18-218.2), is 25 percent.
• Allow modified sidewalk configurations and frontage improvements along Lewis Street NW and Windover Avenue NW, in place of the standard improvements required by Section 18-402, primarily to preserve existing trees.
• Eliminate the loading space otherwise required by Section 18-582.
• Eliminate required interior parking lot landscape islands under Section 18-560, to accommodate underground stormwater-management facilities beneath the parking area.
• Reduce portions of the required 15-foot landscape buffer, as required under Section 18-661.1.
• Eliminate the long-term bicycle parking, otherwise required by Section 18-583.
The Planning Commission (Attachment 10) recommended approval subject to the following conditions:
• The shed located closest to the school shall be removed and relocated outside the buffer area.
• The modified buffer area closest to Windover Avenue NW shall be accepted as presented.
• The modified buffer adjacent to 221 Nutley Street NW shall be accepted as presented. If that property changes from residential use to another use, the required 15-foot buffer shall be reestablished in accordance with Town standards.
• If Phase 2 has not begun construction within six years, deferred buffer plantings shall be installed to meet Town requirements on the remainder of the site.
• The school shall install sound-mitigation measures, including fencing, vegetation, or other appropriate materials, before commencing construction of the first phase.
SUMMARY/STAFF IMPRESSIONS:
The requested modifications are integral to the campus plan approved through the CUP and would allow the proposed buildings, circulation improvements, stormwater facilities, landscaping, and buffering to be implemented as shown on the application plans (Attachment 4).
Several requested modifications are intended to provide practical benefits, including preserving mature trees, accommodating underground stormwater management, and adapting general site development standards to an established institutional campus. At the same time, the increased lot coverage and reductions in required buffering warrant careful consideration because the school is located within and immediately adjacent to established residential neighborhoods. In general, such institutional uses as schools and churches, when located in residential zones, need and are approved for lot coverage of more than 25%.
The Planning Commission’s recommended conditions are intended to limit the extent and potential effects of the requested modifications, particularly along the school’s residential boundaries. The conditions imposed by the BZA through the CUP provide additional safeguards related to enrollment phasing, sound attenuation, landscaping, circulation, tree preservation, and ongoing neighborhood compatibility.
At the Town Council public hearing, Council will consider the requested modifications based on the application materials, Planning Commission recommendation, a staff memorandum with analysis, public testimony, and the conditions approved as part of the related CUP.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that Town Council receive the presentation and project update and ask any clarifying questions that will help the Council to understand the application. No action is requested during the work session. Town Council will consider the request following the public hearing, which is anticipated to be scheduled for September 28, 2026.