San Rafael private school orders security fencing

Mark Day School, which leases its campus from the Miller Creek School District, sought the barrier as protection from vandalism and trespassing.

Mark Day School in Terra Linda is installing new fencing around its campus and athletic field.

The private school, which leases its space from the Miller Creek School District, obtained a city permit in the spring for the fencing as protection from vandalism and trespassing during school hours and after sunset.

The fencing plan was also approved in a “rigorous” process through the Division of the State Architect, the state agency that oversees K-12 school and community college construction, said head of school Joe Harvey.

“To increase school safety during school hours, we are seeking to minimize the frequent occurrences of adults who are not school personnel, parents or guardians or authorized visitors cutting through campus during school hours,” Harvey said.

“The school has also suffered an increase in vandalism, including two fires set on the roof of a campus building, leading us to also want to add protection overnight,” Harvey said.

Public access to the field will be preserved from 4 p.m. to sunset weekdays and from 8 a.m. to sunset on weekends, Harvey said. Access for two sports leagues that rent the field — Gallinas Valley Little League and the Miller Creek Soccer League  — will remain with no changes, he added.

“As is currently the practice, cars will be able to enter the school’s main entrance on Trellis Drive,” Harvey said. “Also, the existing path of travel for Vallecito students and families on the Monticello Road (south) side of the campus will also remain unchanged.”

Becky Rosales, superintendent of the Miller Creek School District, said she and other district personnel met with Mark Day officials to discuss the project.

“The Miller Creek School District certainly understands and supports reasonable restrictions on our active and leased properties in order to protect and increase student safety,” Rosales said.

Rosales said an 8-foot-tall fence will be installed on the north side of the campus.

“There will be a 4-foot to 6-foot gap between the field fence and the wooden backyard fences,” she said. “This will still allow for a pass-through from Trellis to Nova Albion.”

The school is expected to control when the gates are locked, she said.

“Pedestrian access will be through a pedestrian gate that locks and unlocks automatically with the field schedule,” Rosales said. “A new gate to prevent vehicles from driving along the north side of campus will be installed, replacing the current chain link fence.”

Rosales said that the district expects see new signs installed as the project progresses.

“The signage will include hours of access, restriction of dogs on campus, alcohol consumption on the premises and identifying it as a no-smoking zone,” Rosales said.

Some Terra Linda neighbors said they were caught off-guard by the fencing project and that they heard nothing about it until construction began last month.

“Typically, in our long-term leases, lessees have authority to enhance the site or property, as long as they follow the language of the lease regarding such,” Rosales said.

Micah Hinkle, director of the San Rafael Community and Economic Development Department, said the city’s design review permit for the fencing was granted April 5.

“The city fence approvals did not alter the requirements for the school to provide community access to the sports fields after school hours, pursuant to their use permit which was approved by City Council in 2015,” Hinkle said in an email.