Holy Spirit Catholic Church and Preparatory School have canceled a June 6 community meeting about a campus expansion plan, saying a surprise request by the city of Sandy Springs for a water study cannot be completed in time. The meeting will be rescheduled, Holy Spirit says.
Holy Spirit has a controversial plan to expand its Buckhead campus at Mt. Paran Road and Northside Drive onto an adjacent Sandy Springs site. The proposal includes relocating its Lower School from elsewhere in Sandy Springs, as well as a parking deck and church-related buildings.
Kyle Pietrantonio, head of school at Holy Spirit Prep, wrote in a June 5 email to Holy Spirit supporters that a last-minute city request led to canceling the community meeting.
“Last night, we learned that the city of Sandy Springs is now asking for a full hydrology study on our proposed development,” Pietrantonio wrote. “We already have a preliminary hydrology study, which is what we were told is normally expected at this point in the process. The new request comes as a surprise, and we cannot reasonably fulfill the request before our community meeting tomorrow night.”
The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Water runoff effects has been among community concerns about the plan. Atlanta City Councilmember J.P. Matzigkeit cited runoff as part of his “deep concern” about the project in a newsletter circulated the day before the meeting was postponed.
Holy Spirit’s plan would require a permit from the city of Sandy Springs. The city of Atlanta likely would review stormwater infrastructure plans.