Educator Bobbie Noonan plans to expand her 2-year-old private school in Mokena.
Noonan and her husband, Joseph, recently presented the expansion plan to the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
The addition, which they would like to build this summer, would house two classrooms, a library, a chapel and a storage room at Noonan Academy, 19131 Henry Drive.
About 140 preschool through 5th-grade pupils are enrolled at the private Catholic school and day care center, and enrollment is projected to grow by about 30 next year, according to Bobbie Noonan. She said there is a waiting list for places in the lower grades.
The addition is not just to make room for more pupils, Joseph Noonan said. “We’re expanding facilities for the children we already have,” he said.
The Noonans own a string of day care centers in the south suburbs and Florida. Their Mokena school opened in 1995.
The zoning board is studying a proposed compromise that would allow the Noonans to build the addition without paving more land for parking.
A village ordinance ties parking spaces to building size, but the Noonans said the school’s 33-space parking lot is adequate.
Some zoning board members were reluctant to waive the parking requirement, but they supported a plan to require the Noonans to designate space for a parking lot, if one should be needed.
Board Chairman Robert Horras said that the school may only need 33 parking spaces, but if another enterprise were to take over the site, village officials should be in a position to demand that additional parking be provided.
The board is expected to vote on the parking question in May.