FOCUS D.C. Public Charter School Bulletin

February 3, 2006

Neighbors Ask Court to Block Charter Preschool

Neighbors of the proposed permanent home of AppleTree Early Learning PCS on 12th Street N.E. have asked a judge to enjoin the District from issuing building and related permits on the school until new regulations governing charters’ right to locate in residential neighborhoods are adopted by the Zoning Commission. A second draft of the new regulations is expected to be published soon. The complaint alleges that the school would “destroy the historic residential character of the neighborhood.”

AppleTree is a first-year charter school currently located in Southwest D.C. It has purchased a commercial building in the middle of a residential block and proposes to house 52 preschoolers there beginning in the fall.

Under current regulations, public schools, like churches, embassies, and certain other uses, are permitted to locate “by right” in residential neighborhoods. By-right uses are not required to go through the special exception process of the Board of Zoning Appeals, during which issues of noise, traffic, etc. can be brought forward by neighbors. The street on which the proposed school would sit is zoned R-4; in addition to churches and embassies, hospitals, sanitariums, private clubs, fraternities, sororities, boarding houses, museums, Sunday school buildings, and mass transit facilities are permitted to locate by right in R-4 zones.

The neighbors do not dispute that under current regulations public schools may locate by right in residential zones. They argue, however, that charter schools chartered by the D.C. Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB), such as AppleTree, do not meet the definition of “public school” in the regulations. Those regulations, promulgated decades before the first charter school opened in 1996, define “public school” as a school operated by the Board of Education. Because of this, the neighbors assert, only DCPS and Board of Education-chartered schools may locate by right.

Board of Education charter schools, however, like DCPCSB schools, are independent of the school system and are operated not by the BOE but by their own boards of directors. What’s more, in spite of the archaic definition of public school in the regulations, since the beginning of the charter school movement in the District ten years ago the Zoning Department has recognized both boards’ charter schools as public for zoning purposes and has permitted them to locate by right in residential zones.

It is clear from the neighbors’ complaint that they realize their argument is not persuasive and that they have little chance of stopping AppleTree under the current regulations. They want the court, therefore, to prohibit zoning authorities from issuing permits to AppleTree until the new regulations are in effect. Those regulations, a draft of which was sent to FOCUS for comment two weeks ago by the Office of Planning, would classify charter schools as public schools entitled to the same treatment as DCPS schools. They would also, however, place severe restrictions on the ability of public schools to locate by right in residential zones (see Bulletin, January 25, 2006, at www.focusdc.org), and AppleTree’s project would have to be abandoned. These restrictions would not affect churches, embassies, and the myriad other by-right uses listed above.

FOCUS and other charter school proponents who have seen the draft regulations have submitted lengthy comments to the Office of Planning. FOCUS’s comments are attached.

Friends of Choice in Urban Schools
1530 16th Street, NW #104
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 387-0405 phone
(202) 667-3798 fax
www.focusdc.org