Council denies special-use permit for Cosmic Montessori after traffic and safety concerns

The City of Katy on April 13 rejected a request by Cosmic Montessori Education to open a private micro elementary school for up to 24 students at 1506 Avenue D, citing repeated concerns about traffic and site safety.

Applicants James Deglard and Bejoy Verghese told council their proposal included a minimum of six permanent parking spaces, a driveway that could store five cars, staggered 15‑minute drop‑off windows and an off‑site overflow parking agreement. Deglard said the owners voluntarily commissioned a third‑party traffic analysis and had spoken with the Katy Police Department, which the applicants said raised no operational objections.

Several nearby residents urged council to deny the special‑use permit, saying Avenue D is already congested, the site sits on a curve and cars ‘‘barrel’’ through the area. Neighbor Sherry Booth said she lives next to the location and called the curve unsafe for elementary children. Multiple speakers described existing backups on Avenue D and said earlier planning‑body denial reflected these community concerns.

Traffic engineer Ash Samira summarized the firm’s quantitative analysis and said the most conservative estimate of vehicle trips generated by a 24‑student micro school would be 24 vehicles, producing about a 2% increase in peak‑hour traffic and that the driveway provides about 110 feet of storage for a five‑vehicle queue. Samira said the analysis showed the development does not trigger a formal traffic impact study.

Council members questioned whether the site configuration and local travel patterns would allow the proposed quick‑drop procedures to prevent queueing onto Avenue D. One council member called Avenue D ‘‘a nightmare’’ in the morning and said parents arriving early or late can defeat timed plans. Another raised that school zone signage or traffic signal improvements were years away in planned schedules.

Council Member Paula Taylor moved to approve the special‑use permit; Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris seconded. After extended discussion and public comment, the motion failed on a recorded council vote (reported as 0–4 against approval). The council did not adopt the permit.

The council meeting minutes show planning staff had recommended denial at the Planning and Zoning Commission; the applicants emphasized mitigation steps but the council concluded site safety and traffic risk outweighed the proposed mitigation. There was no indication in the transcript that the council imposed alternative conditions or sent the item back for revision; the permit request was simply not approved.