By a 4-1 vote this week, the City Council denied the school's request for an impact-fee waiver. The decision means Summit Academy must join other commercial ventures in covering costs for road improvement and for services such as police and fire.

Brian Berndt, Draper's Community Development director, says the fast-growing suburb in the south Salt Lake Valley has been consistent with such charges in the past.

"The city can't take the burden of all the impacts on its roads without some kind of compensation," he said. "The rationale was very sound."

Nobody from the school showed up at this week's public hearing to protest.

Last-minute landscaping and paving have delayed the opening of the new charter school, but parents say Summit Academy is expected to be open within a week.

- Derek P. Jensen