Residents in a Lutz neighborhood are pushing back against a rezoning special-use application that would bring a 1,000-student K-8 private school to their community.Jennifer Miranda, a Lutz resident, reached out to Tampa Bay 28 r eporter Annette Gutierrez about the proposal, describing it as adding "significant strain and safety concerns to our already congested semi-rural residential neighborhoods."WATCH: Lutz residents fight rezoning proposal for 1,000-student private school on Holly Lane Lutz residents fight rezoning proposal for 1,000-student private school on Holly LaneAnd if you're driving down Holly Lane, you'll find signs that read "Stop Rezoning." This is the area where resident said the proposed development would fundamentally impact the neighborhoodPublic records show the school would be called APEX Academy.As a 3rd generation resident, Miranda said she feels like she has a responsibility to preserve what makes Lutz so special."I really feel an obligation to protect and preserve what my grandfather came to Lutz for, which is a semi-rural life," Miranda said.Fellow resident James Hayes said the scale of the project stands out."I haven't seen any development like this. This would be substantial," Hayes said.Residents said their concerns go beyond the size of the development. They point to road safety, flooding and traffic as major issues."The street right behind us, it's very small. You barely can fit two cars on the street behind us, and there's no sidewalks," Hayes said.Belinda Pope has lived in the neighborhood for over 20 years and said the road infrastructure cannot support the added strain."The road really in our opinion cannot be widened much because of the storm drain issue we do have a flooding issue here," Hays said.Dr. Demelza Hays, a director of the Holly Lane Action Committee Inc., raised concerns about daily traffic from a school of that size."If we have a car line every morning and afternoon that's going down Holly Lane, people are gonna have a really hard time actually entering and exiting from their home," Hays said.Gutierrez drove around the area with Hays to get a better sense of the roadways. She said her organization raised over $12,000 to hire a traffic engineer, a land-use expert and an attorney to fight the rezoning proposal."This vacant lot is supposed to be residential, single family, or agricultural or commercial, but not an intensive development," Hays said.Residents said they are open to development, but not commercial projects that could bring hundreds of people to the area.Belinda Pope, a former teacher in the area, said there is no need for additional schools particularly a private one."Within 4 miles, we have eight K-8 schools," Pope said. "We have wonderful A-graded schools right here in our neighborhood," Pope said.A spokesperson for APEX Academy said there is a need for the private school in the area, but declined to comment further.The next public hearing is set for June 15 at 9 a.m. ...read more read less