The child care and preschool provider that rents part of the former Cooper School site in Mountain View is proposing to grow its footprint, adding new buildings and expanding its parking lot.

Action Day Primary Plus leases the property from the Mountain View Whisman School District and is asking the school board to approve plans to add seven new modular buildings and a play area, as well as to expand the parking lot. The project would also include landscaping and changes to the facades of existing buildings.

Action Day Chief Operating Officer Cathy Jelic presented details of her company's plans to the school board at a Thursday, April 6, meeting, including a summary of feedback gathered at three community meetings that Action Day held. Jelic described the community response as largely positive.

The expansion would provide additional revenue for the school district. Action Day currently pays roughly $745,000 annually in rent, with its lease expiring this summer. Under Action Day's proposal, there would be a 3% annual increase in the rent for its current facility (equaling roughly $767,000) and an additional $366,000 paid in annual rent for the expansion. In total, the company would be paying the district about $1.13 million annually.

The school board's response on Thursday was mixed. Some trustees praised the plans, while Trustee Bill Lambert raised concerns about the potential loss of open space.

Action Day's Mountain View campus serves children from infancy through five years of age, with a current cap of 160 students. The expansion would allow Action Day to serve an additional 100 kids, Jelic told the board. Staff would also increase from 30 to 45 and parking capacity would go from 25 spots to 58.

The current Action Day campus sits on the northern end of the Cooper site, and includes three buildings, containing nine classrooms in total. Cooper Park, which is frequently used by community members, is located behind the school.

The Cooper site has been the subject of past controversy, with neighbors raising objections five years ago when the school district contemplated putting housing for teachers and other staff on the property. Those plans ultimately didn't move forward.

Action Day's proposed expansion would be restricted to the northern part of the property and largely wouldn't impact the park itself. The new buildings, play structure and asphalt paving would be placed directly behind the three existing buildings, which is currently an undeveloped area of the site. The new parking lot would replace a portion of a grass field in front of the school. Action Day also plans to landscape the front of the school with additional trees.

At last week's school board meeting, Lambert called the project "problematic" and "challenging," describing it as expanding the preschool onto Cooper Park. Lambert argued that the entire space is park space, not just the developed portion.

"I recognize the school is there. I recognize that the expansion will bring in funding for our educational programs," Lambert said. "But still, this involves expanding onto existing park space and as we know, once park space is gone, it is gone forever."

In particular, Lambert asked whether it would be possible not to expand the parking lot, and even whether Action Day could reduce the existing parking lot and blacktop areas. An architect working for the school responded that the increased parking is meant to get employees' vehicles off the streets and provide more space for parents to park while dropping off their children. A new asphalt path around the back of the campus is meant for fire access, she said.

Jelic also said that neighbors don't typically use the grassy area in front of the school where the new parking lot would be placed. As for the back of the school, she described the area as being full of weeds and said that neighbors expressed support for the change.

In aerial photos included in the presentation to the board, the back area where the new buildings would go is shown as dry dirt. Recent rains have largely filled the area with grass and weeds.

Lambert said that while he recognized the inconvenience of parking on the street, it is the reality for many new residential construction projects in Mountain View. In terms of the back area, he said that just because a space is dirt now, doesn't mean it couldn't be planted with grass or other plants. Lambert added that he isn't necessarily opposed to moving forward with the project, but that he wants to consider it carefully.

Other board members were more optimistic about the project. Devon Conley said that while park space is a priority in Mountain View, Action Day would be putting in additional trees as part of the development, as well as adding a planting area next to the new classrooms.

Conley said that she was pleased with the community outreach that has been done and is excited about the project. She also noted that there is a regional shortage of child care, which the school's expansion could help address. It's an issue that hits particularly close to home for Conley, who is the mother of a three-month-old.

"I feel this acutely," Conley said. "It is very, very difficult to find infant and toddler child care."

Laura Blakely similarly noted that as the city grows, child care capacity will become more strained and said that the area is currently a "dusty, muddy mess." She expressed support for the project.

The new lease with the expansion plans is expected to come before the board for a vote at its next meeting.