A private school, whose application to build an educational facility on Richmond’s Highway to Heaven was rejected by council, is hoping a second application will be approved.
Anne Yu, a parent and one of the founders of Pythagoras Academy, said the school submitted a second application two weeks ago.
She added that since it is an “in-stream” application, both their previous one and this one should “technically be approved under the current bylaw and backland policies.”
“I sincerely hope the city council will support us instead of trying every way to block us,” she said in an email to the Richmond News.
Council’s planning committee was looking at tightening up what is allowed on the No. 5 Road section between Blundell Road and Steveston Highway, an area in the Agricultural Land Reserve that is earmarked for religious institutions.
An amendment to its bylaw would have restricted schools, large childcare facilities and dormitories from being built in the area.
However, after four hours of input from the public – largely from religious institutions that already have schools on the Highway to Heaven – the planning committee sent the bylaw back to staff.
The committee asked staff to speak with the current schools about their future plans and look in-stream applications. They also asked staff to assess the infrastructure implications of building more on the Highway to Heaven.
