Mattie Washburn Elementary School Transitional Kindergarten and Administration Building
Summary
SCH Number
2025060772
Public Agency
Windsor Unified School District
Document Title
Mattie Washburn Elementary School Transitional Kindergarten and Administration Building
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
6/17/2025
Document Description
The District proposes to expand part of the campus to the west onto a portion of the existing David Smith Memorial Park to construct and operate a transitional kindergarten (TK) space. The proposed project will construct five new transitional kindergarten portable classrooms, an administration building, a covered lunch patio, two playground areas with play structures, paved and unpaved walking paths, and a fire lane. The campus will be landscaped throughout and include two bioswales.
Primary access to the project site will be provided by the existing parking lot on Sugar Maple Lane. Two paved walkways will connect to the parking lot. The campus will be fenced for added security. The northern portion of the project site will include a parent waiting area south of a double slide gate. The proposed project will formalize the pick up and drop-off activities in this parking lot and utilize the existing parking lot on Sugar Maple Lane for pick-up and drop-off. The proposed project will also restripe two parking spots for Americans with Disability Act compliance. The proposed project also includes the installation of a paved fire lane on the west side of the project site.
The proposed project would include outdoor gathering spaces and a playground area. Outdoor gathering spaces include a shaded teacher lunch/parent conference area, covered lunch area, and benches. The playground area contains a formal TK playground with play structures and synthetic turf, a natural play area and outdoor classrooms space, adventure slide, a decomposed granite discovery trail, and two pollinator gardens.
The proposed project will require the removal of 14 trees, paved surfaces, three storage containers, stored equipment, chain-link fencing, park benches, trash cans, and grills. The 14 trees to be removed include three Oregon Ash, six Coast Redwood, and five Valley Oak (see Appendix A). None of these species are sensitive species. The proposed project would not affect the Monterey Pine.
The proposed project will increase student enrollment capacity at the campus by 86 students, from a student enrollment capacity of 864 students to 950 students. The proposed preschool would be open from 7:30 AM through 5:30 PM and would be accessible to parents to pick-up and drop-off during times of operation. This differs from the normal operational hours of the Mattie Washburn ES campus, which begins at 8:20 AM and concludes at 2:10 PM.
The proposed project will serve students within Mattie Washburn's existing enrollment boundary. The proposed project will benefit the district, students, and staff by providing new educational facilities.
Contact Information
Name
Austin Matzaganian
Agency Name
Windsor Unified School District
Job Title
Chief Business Officer
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
Windsor
Counties
Sonoma
Regions
Citywide, Northern California
Cross Streets
Sugar Maple Lane, and Shadetree Drive
Zip
95492
Total Acres
1.11
Parcel #
162-020-048
State Highways
Interstate 101
Railways
Northwestern Pacific Railroad
Schools
Multiple
Waterways
Lakewood Hills Lake
Township
8N
Range
8W
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
15301, 15303, 15311, 15314
Reasons for Exemption
CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (1)(4) allows for the demolition or removal of individual small structures, including accessory structures. The removal of the existing chain-link fencing, three storage containers and stored equipment, park benches, trash cans, and grills are exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301. The proposed restriping of the existing ADA parking spaces is the maintenance of existing facilities. As such, the removal of these structures and restriping of the ADA parking spaces are exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301.
The proposed construction of the outdoor spaces, a double-sided gate, fencing, shade structures, fire lane, paved walkways, bioswales and landscaping are exempt from CEQA under Class 3, New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures (Section 15303). The proposed outdoor spaces, a double-sided gate, fencing, and the shade structures, fire lane, paved walkways, bioswales, and landscaping are small new structures or are small new equipment. The improvements will be located on the project site to serve students, staff, and parents and would not increase student capacity; these improvements are exempt from CEQA under Section 15303.
The proposed construction of the outdoor spaces, a double-sided gate, fencing, shade structures, fire lane, paved walkways, bioswales and landscaping are also exempt from CEQA under Class 11, Accessory Structures (Section 15311 ). The proposed construction of the outdoor spaces, a double-sided gate, fencing, shade structures, fire lane, paved walkways, bioswales and landscaping are minor accessory structures to the existing improvements and to provide a suitable educational environment. The proposed project will include the construction of a new fire lane, as an accessory to the new educational uses and will improve the safety of the project site and future students. The improvements will be located on the project site to serve students, staff, and parents, and would not increase student capacity; the project is exempt from CEQA under Section 15311.
The proposed project, including the five classrooms and one administrative building are exempt from CEQA under Class 14, Minor Additions to Schools (Section 15314). The new buildings will be located within the expanded campus and would support Mattie Washburn ES. The proposed project will result in a net increase of five classrooms, less than the maximum allowable increase of ten classrooms under the Class 14 exemption. The proposed project will result in an increase in student enrollment capacity from 864 students to 950 students, a net increase of 86 students which will result in an increase in capacity of 9.95 percent. Since the new classroom buildings are located within the expanded campus area and will not increase the number of school classrooms by more than ten or student capacity by more than 25 percent, the proposed project, in its entirety, is exempt from CEQA under Section 15314.
The proposed project was also reviewed for possible exceptions to the use of categorical exemptions under Section 15300.2, Exceptions, of the CEQA Guidelines and the District found that the exceptions do not apply. See Attachment to the Notice of Exemption for further explanation of the evaluation, which is available at the Windsor Unified School District Office at 9291 Old Redwood Highway, Building 500, in the Town of Windsor.
County Clerk
Sonoma
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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