Plans to rebuild and redesign the crowded, aging high school have Vaughn and some of her neighbors more troubled, setting off a tense community debate over balancing the needs of a crown-jewel public school with quality of life in the coveted ZIP code.

The Bellaire City Council, hearing concerns about traffic, parking, aesthetics and safety, is warning the Houston Independent School District that it won't rubber stamp permits to bypass zoning laws that set the southwest enclave apart from the city of Houston.

"Do you take a stand for property values? Do you take a stand for the students?" asked Vaughn, who sends her children to private school but has friends with children at Bellaire High.

While HISD is rebuilding dozens of schools thanks to its 2012 voter-approved bond referendum, Bellaire High represents a unique challenge despite the district's $106.7 million budget for the project.

The school enrolls the most students - more than 3,700 - on one of the smallest lots, totaling 18 acres, in a land-locked residential neighborhood in a city with restrictions concerning parking spaces, building heights and other design aspects.

"We're trying to do what we think is in the best interest of our students," said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. "They're trying to do what they think is in the best interest of their city and their citizens. We're working very hard to be a good partner and trying to bring those interests together."

Residential congestion

HISD already has gone back-and-forth with the city of Bellaire in recent months over rebuilding nearby Condit Elementary - they recently resolved a dispute over parking - but the district has decided to rebuild its Mandarin immersion school outside of Bellaire because of the city's requirements as well as the small lot size.

One of HISD's proposals calls for rebuilding Bellaire High School on the backside of the campus where the athletic fields now sit. That would allow students to remain in the current facility rather than being dispatched off-site to several different campuses during the typical two or three years of construction.

But neighbors, as well as some parents and city officials, criticize the plan for reorienting, or flipping, the school. It would lose its prominent presence on South Rice Avenue, and they argue the change would bring too much congestion along residential two-lane streets like Ferris and Holly that now face the athletic fields.

"I don't mind the high school being there. I just want it to face the way it is," said Angie Marquez, who built her Spanish-style home behind the school a dozen years ago.

Phasing in project

A proposal that would keep the school's orientation the same, with the auditorium on South Rice and the main entrance on Maple Street, would require all students to be relocated off campus - an idea that Principal Michael McDonough and many parents oppose.

"I will remain steadfast in my commitment to make the best possible argument for us to remain on-site as we endure this rebuild," McDonough wrote in a memo posted on the school's website.

Rebuilding the school in phases - so at least some students could stay on-site - is another possibility, but that plan is expected to extend the construction time line beyond two or three years.

Some residents also have railed against building a parking garage that could be unsightly and clog the area as students enter and exit, though it would limit street parking that has drawn complaints. An underground garage has more appeal but could be too costly.

Amid concerns, HISD trustee Mike Lunceford said last week that Grier has asked district officials and architects from the company PBK to work on other design options.

"I think there's a middle ground," said Swati Narayan, president of the Bellaire High parent group. "On one hand, everybody wants a minimal amount of time required for the construction. I don't blame them. Who wants to be sitting in a construction zone for four or five years?

"But then everybody keeps talking about property values. Everybody's property values are as high as they are in spite of the dilapidated structure that's sitting on South Rice. It's not the building that's driving their property values. It's what's going on inside the building."

'Fire a warning shot'

In August, the Bellaire City Council granted HISD potential relief by voting 5-2 to eliminate a mandate for a minimum number of parking spots for schools. But council members publicly reminded HISD that they have the ultimate power to approve the district's request for the required specific-use permit.

Councilman Pat McLaughlan, who requested a community meeting about the high school that will be held Sept. 29, said he wanted to hold it early in the process "to fire a warning shot across the bow of HISD that this body is serious about protecting the quality of life in our neighborhoods."

"We learned from the Condit (Elementary) process that HISD is extremely difficult to deal with," he added.

Bellaire Mayor Phil Nauert said his city's zoning rules are a main reason property values remain high (the median appraised home value: $585,800, according to the Houston Association of Realtors). Another reason for the high values, he said: the reputation of Bellaire High, where students regularly pass the most college-level Advancement Placement exams and qualify for prestigious National Merit Scholarships.

"I truly believe we're going to end up with the same quality high school that the Realtors brag about," said Nauert, who sent his daughter to Bellaire High and his son to private school. "It's going to be a long, drawn-out and at times uncomfortable process, but I know that HISD's committed to that outcome, and the city is as well."

Another round of debates, however, may surface down the line. Lunceford, the HISD trustee who represents Bellaire, said rezoning students to other high schools to reduce Bellaire's enrollment may be a possibility in future years.

HISD bond documents say the new Bellaire High School is being built for 2,800 to 3,100 students. But McDonough said at a community meeting this month that the building capacity actually would accommodate 3,400 to 3,500 students.

Of Bellaire High's 3,700 or so students, about 2,900 are zoned there and the others transferred in.