LUTZ — A Hillsborough County land use hearing officer has approved a special use permit for a private K-8 school for up to 1,000 students on North Dale Mabry Highway, clearing a major hurdle for a project dozens of residents say does not belong in semi-rural Lutz.
The residents are not done fighting. A group that grew to more than 300 members on Facebook has formed a nonprofit, Preserve Rural Lutz, and raised more than $18,000 to pay an attorney to seek reconsideration and, if that fails, file an appeal.
The Naidip Foundation, a nonprofit that says it focuses on education, youth empowerment and environmental conservation, wants to build Apex Academy on about 24 acres at the southeast corner of Dale Mabry Highway and Holly Lane. Plans call for a 135,000-square-foot school, a freestanding gymnasium, a garden center, a private wastewater treatment plant, a wellhead and water system, a fire tank, play areas and sports fields.
Under the proposal, Holly Lane would be widened to four lanes, left turns onto Dale Mabry would be restricted and the site would provide about 7,100 feet of stacking space for student pickup and drop-off. Those plans were amended after residents raised concerns about the size of the school and the traffic it would add to an already congested stretch of Dale Mabry.
In a Facebook post, Preserve Rural Lutz said it told the county and the hearing officer that a 135,000-square-foot building “is not compatible with the surrounding nature,” noting it would dwarf anything else nearby. The group also argued that more than 30 highly rated schools in the area have empty seats and little forecast growth.
The group obtained feedback from the Florida Department of Transportation, which raised its own objections. The agency said it had “concerns about the connection on Holly Lane Road being too close to the intersection” and recommended shifting it east to keep vehicles from stacking onto the state road. FDOT also called the proposed Dale Mabry connection nonconforming because it does not meet minimum spacing requirements.
About 30 residents packed the June 15 hearing wearing red shirts reading “Keep Lutz Semi-Rural.” No one spoke in favor of the school except Mark Bentley, an attorney representing the foundation, who said it would “provide an educational opportunity unique to Hillsborough County.”
Among the opponents was Micha Seal, chief executive of Watermelon Swim, which operates a location at 19509 Dale Mabry Highway. The proposed academy would sit between the swim school to the south and Christ Cumberland Presbyterian Church to the north.
Another resident pointed to the Lutz Community Plan, written by residents in 2011 and adopted by the county. The plan designates the area west of U.S. 41 and east of Dale Mabry Highway as rural, with single-family homes on half-acre or larger lots. The plan defines compatibility as “the characteristics of different uses, activities, or designs which allow them to be located near or adjacent to each other in harmony.”
Preserve Rural Lutz estimates a motion for reconsideration will cost $600 to $1,200 and an appeal $2,000 to $4,000, according to its GoFundMe page. The Naidip Foundation must still apply for site plan approval and a building permit.