A private school in Richmond wants city council to give it another year’s reprieve in its temporary location in an industrial and "limited retail" area.
City Vancouver Academy, which was found last year by the Ministry of Education to be operating where schools weren’t permitted, was given a temporary permit last year by council to continue in its current location.
Now, the school is asking for another year’s extension of this temporary permit at 8766 McKim Way, close to Cambie and Garden City roads, while they renovate their new location at Westminster Highway and No. 3 Road.
In its current location, the zoning doesn't allow schools because the area is in the flight path of airplanes coming and going to the airport, and this is considered too noisy for educational environments.
However, all classes at City Vancouver Academy are held indoors except P.E., the report to council notes.
The report, which the planning committee will deal with next week, also notes school officials say a permanent site they were looking for fell through this year, prompting the need for the extension.
The private school is for students in Grades 10 to 12 and operates on a semester system with classes in the fall, winter, spring and summer.
Each course costs $825 for local students and $1,300 for international students.
According to the Ministry of Education, the school had 27 students enrolled last September.
