LUTZ, Fla. — The proposed building of a private school in Lutz has worried some of the people who live nearby.
Demelza Hays said construction of the school goes against the semi-rural nature of their community.
Now, she and her neighbors are trying to stop the construction of a 1,000-student, private K-8 school.
“We actually bought our home because of the semi-rural nature of Lutz,” she said.
Since finding out about the proposed school, community members have been making their voices heard.
Hays said that if the school is approved, she needs to think about her family’s future.
“I have a daughter and a child on the way, and if this school is built here, my family’s already discussed potentially having to sell because … our children could no longer roam freely,” she said.
The Naidip Foundation submitted a special-use application to build Apex Academy near the intersection of North Dale Mabry Highway and Holly Lane in Lutz.
Spectrum News reached out to the foundation’s spokesperson, but they declined to be interviewed for this story.
University of South Florida School of Public Affairs associate professor Elizabeth Strom said the special use application is common for this type of proposal.
“One of the things that you would have to address for special-use application, if you’re a private school, would be parking, traffic, access,” she said.
The location of the proposed school is outside Hillsborough County’s urban service area.
Strom said residents have a point that the construction will make their community less rural than it’s designated to be.
“If it was inside the urban service area, I would be less sympathetic because we need schools, we need housing,” Strom said. “But the county has decided that that development will largely take place within the urban service area.”
A Land Use Hearing Officer hearing on the special-use application will take place on June 15.