Manara-CS090627
(12/23/2009) Ken Griffin - Fw: Concerned Citizens of CoppellPage 1
From:
<kmjl_griffin@msn.com>
To:
"kgriffin" <kgriffin@ci.coppell.tx.us>
Date:
6/27/2009 4:46 PM
Subject:
Fw: Concerned Citizens of Coppell
Attachments:
Manara Academy - great school, wrong location.doc
From: Wes Mays
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 3:02 PM
To: wlca_mays@msn.com
Subject: Concerned Citizens of Coppell
To all Concerned Citizens of Coppell,
The charter school's (Manara Academy) special use permit was approved unanimously by the city council
even though over-whelming resident disapproval (199 against 3 for) would lead one to believe that the
council would have voted it down.
The council was filled to overflowing capacity as citizen after citizen voiced disapproval of the SUP.
One final opportunity for the citizens of Coppell remains when the official city ordinance is voted on in full
council session on July 14.
We need you to do several things to support your fellow citizens to let the council know that you do care:
1. Continue emailing the council members. They think that this issue has died away and that we have
accepted their decision as the "right" decision.
2. Ask for a face to face meeting with a council member (or two) and ask them point blank why they voted
the way they did.
3. Attend the City Council meeting on July 14 at 7:00 PM and let the voices of the citizens of Coppell be
heard once again.
We have created a flyer called "Manara Academy-Great School, Wrong Location" that includes the "Top
10" reasons that Coppell is not the right place for Manara. Please make sure that our council members
see this in person!
Thanks for your continued support.
Wes Mays
Manara Academy: “Great School – Wrong Location”
Top 10 Reasons that the Coppell City Council
Should Have Said “NO” to Manara Academy
10.Since the original SUP was granted the population of Coppell has grown over 40%
(16,000 in 1988 – 39,000 in 2009)
9.When the original SUP was granted, Westbury Manor subdivision was not in
existence
the Lutheran Church sold 7 acres to Ryland Homes to build Westbury Manor
8.Manara Academy student enrollment (326) more than doubles the enrollment of
Christ Our Savior Lutheran School (144 elementary students)
7. Manara Academy proposes twice the number of students (326) on less than ½ the
land
Christ Our Savior Lutheran School had 144 elementary school students on
11+acres
Manara Academy proposes 326 elementary school students on 4+ acres
6.Over 93% of the students will be coming from out of town – this will generate
significantly more parents attempting to get their children to and from school
5.The Traffic Management Plan (drop-off/pick-up) provided by Manara is
fundamentally flawed
See the Halff and Associates Traffic Engineer’s report
4.The Traffic Management Plan (TMP) has children being dropped off on the wrong
side of the car, creating a potentially dangerous situation by forcing students to
cross in front of cars
3.Manara Academy parents, frustrated by the flaws in the TMP, will drop kids off
offsite and encourage them to find other ways into the school
2.The TIA (Traffic Impact Analysis) assumed that there will be no queuing on Heartz
The flaws in the Traffic Management Plan will cause traffic to back up on
Heartz, creating gridlock and thus invalidating the Traffic Impact Analysis
numbers
1. The site is significantly smaller (47%) than any other public school site in Coppell
Every public school in Coppell, including Pinkerton and Universal Academy,
exists on a site that is at least 9.5 acres
In other words, the use is simply too intense for the site.
All of these issues should have led the Council to conclude –
“Manara Academy: “Great school – Wrong Location”