- Boone County Fiscal Court advanced a zoning amendment allowing a school use at Potter’s Ranch.
- Union Pointe Christian Academy plans to accommodate up to 100 students at Potter’s Ranch Family Life Center.
- The change would also permit construction of a future school building on the 7.3-acre site.
A small Christian school in Boone County is planning to upgrade its facilities following support from the Boone County Fiscal Court.
The Robert Lightner Foundation, a nonprofit Christian organization, runs Union Pointe Christian Academy, a small private school that used to operate out of Florence Baptist Church at 642 Mt. Zion Road. Eventually, the school moved into an existing building on the Potter’s Ranch complex near the Ohio River.
On Tuesday, the Boone County Fiscal Court conducted a first reading on a zoning map amendment submitted by Lightner for a 7.3-acre parcel of land at 5194 Beaver Road. The parcel is part of the larger Potter’s Ranch property, a private, non-denominational Christian wilderness retreat for children.
The larger complex comprised approximately 630 acres, according to its website. Potter’s Ranch hosts camps, educational seminars, retreats and recreation programs throughout the year.
Currently, the property is zoned as Recreational One, which prevents school operations within its boundaries. Boone County Planner Steve Lilly said the foundation was already operating a school on the property, but because the property was zoned as Recreational One, the owners were cited for a zoning violation.
To correct the issue, the foundation plans to add a planned development overlay to the parcel, which would allow it to operate a school on the site. Once finalized, the amendment would enable the foundation to legally operate the school on the property, which is currently housed in Potter Ranch’s 22,700-square-foot Family Life Center. The center is located on the banks of Gunpowder Creek.
Lilly stated that the foundation intends to renovate the building to accommodate a school for students from preschool to 12th grade. Once completed, the school will have a maximum capacity of 100 students. Currently, about 12 students attend the school.
Additionally, the amendment would allow the foundation to construct another school on the property in the future. Moreover, Lilly noted that a condition linked to the amendment mandates the foundation to adhere to the planning commission’s Change of Concept Development process.
“This is a new building, I think it should be pointed out,” Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore said. “The Christian Life Center concept was what was built. During that process, or somewhere towards the end, they decided it could also work for their school site. They had looked at other locations around the county, but they decided to combine it there.”
Previously, the planning commission recommended approval of the amendment during their Nov. 5 meeting.
Tony Vornberger, the ranch director at Potter’s Ranch, spoke at an Oct. 15 public hearing, advocating for the zoning map amendment.
Vornberger said the Family Life Center mainly functions as an event space for Potter Ranch, but the building also has enough room to support school operations.
“That was a big part of why – the size of the building,” Vornberger said. “It does have nine utilized utility rooms that were classrooms, rental rooms for breakout sessions for our guests, and an office space.”
During the same meeting, Boone County Zoning Administrator Michael Schwartz explained that adding the Planned Development overlay to the parcel’s Recreational One zoning designation would enable a school to be located on the property, providing the owners with more flexibility.
“We are really talking about the exception of allowing a school which is prohibited in the underlying district to locate,” he said. “Within the planned development district, but that flexibility is allowed in those regulations.”
To finalize the amendment, the Boone County Fiscal Court needs to conduct a second reading of the ordinance at a future meeting.