Image from a previous public hearing on the zoning text change in Derby.
Should a former nursing home on Marshall Lane be converted into a dormitory for high school students?
Derby residents have a chance to answer the question during a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21 on the second floor of Derby City Hall.
Click here to download or view the agenda in PDF form.
The members of the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission could rule on the application immediately after the public hearing, according to the agenda.
Apex International Education Partners LLC, based in Watertown, has an application pending for a special exception approval that would allow the former Marshall Lane Manor nursing home to be converted into a dormitory for foreign-born students.
The company, which already houses foreign students all over the state, has described the students as high achievers looking to go to Connecticut private schools — not Derby Public Schools.
But the use has concerned neighbors, who have questioned the wisdom of allowing about 100 or so high school students living in a residential zone without parents present.
AIEP officials have pointed out the kids will be supervised, and have stressed the fact they’re highly-motivated students.
The Derby Planning and Zoning Commission has already changed its zoning regulations by adding “educational dormitory residence” and “residential administration staff” to its zoning rules pertaining to special exceptions within the city’s R‑3 zone.
