Renovation plans for roads and parking around River Ridge Elementary in Villa Hills cleared a public facility review from the Kenton County Planning Commission Monday night, marking the latest in a long planning process to address concerns about car stacking on Amsterdam Road, which leads into the campus.
Stacking refers to the tendency of cars to back up into long lines along a road. This can create safety and traffic hazards, especially around schools.
“The site is located on an urban major collector road and is known to experience heavy periods of traffic, especially during times of student drop off and pick up, often leading to significant congestion for upwards of an hour or more on Amsterdam,” said Kenton County Associate Planner Kayla Barbour.
The Kenton County Board of Education approved some preliminary plans in September, although initial planning for the renovations dates back to 2023. The 2023 plans stalled due to issues with easements near the school and had to be redone. Final construction documents were approved in December. The plan calls for the construction of a long, looping road around the building, which would then terminate in a new parking lot.
Documents the district submitted to the county indicate the new rear lot will contain 90 parking spaces. Another new, off-street parking area will contain 25 spaces. The plans also call for a new sidewalk connecting the nearby Sanctuary Village subdivision, as well as remodeling the playground and expanding the site’s water detention basin.
State agencies, including school districts, are not subject to zoning laws, however, many will still go through a public review process with the planning commission to ensure their proposals cohere with county comprehensive planning. The planning commission’s recommendation is not binding.
Large amounts of tree clearing would be required for the construction to occur, especially for the traffic loop. Other areas in the northeast portion of the campus had also been flagged for tree clearing, a point that Ludlow Rep. Commissioner Tom France brought up.
“Not sure what their reasoning for that is, but just consider leaving the wooded tree area if it’s not going to be developed in the near future,” France said.
A representative from the district did not attend the meeting to explain, but Crescent Springs Rep. Commissioner Greg Sketch, who has a background in engineering, said, “it looks like it’s a grading issue.”
Covington Rep. Commissioner Sarah Flem said keeping the trees may also be worth considering since “there is a sensitive wetland area there.”
After some more discussion, the commissioners unanimously voted to approve the public review but include their concerns about the trees in their approval to the district.
View and download full design documents, created by architectural firm Emboss Design, as presented to the Kenton County Planning Commission below.