Columbus City Schools’ plan to close a portion of Pearl Street for an elementary school expansion still isn’t sitting well with the German Village Commission.

The school’s planning consultant, KKG, took conceptual plans for the expansion of Stewart Alternative Elementary School to the commission on Dec. 6.

While no vote was taken, some commission members still had reservations about permanently closing the street and altering traffic patterns in the area.

Jay Panzer, chairman of the commission, asked why gates couldn’t be placed at either end of the street to close it during school hours and reopen it afterward.

“Say what you want, I’m not buying it,” Panzer said.

KKG consultants said they didn’t want motorists to get used to the idea that the roadway was open, possibly causing a safety issue.

Brian Kinzelman of KKG said several portions of Pearl Street, which extends from the North Side to the South Side, have been closed over the years.

The school district’s original project called for building the 16,500-square-foot addition to Stewart on the Columbus Maennerchor property across Pearl Street. An enclosed walkway would cross over Pearl Street, connecting both buildings.

Planners, however, unveiled an alternate plan that would cluster the addition on the existing parcel. It also calls for the closing of Pearl Street because the playground would be moved to the Maennerchor parcel at 966 S. High St.

Because the expansion crosses two architectural-review boundaries — German Village and the Brewery District — each local commission would have to sign off on the project.

School district officials and planners recently took their conceptual plans to the Brewery District Commission.

Commission members expressed concern over the frontage along High Street, said Randy Black, historic preservation officer for the city of Columbus.

Black said both commissions should consider holding joint sessions when discussing the proposal.

He added that several city departments would have to sign off on the closing of Pearl Street.

Panzer voiced further concerns about the planners not considering the adaptive reuse of the Maennerchor building, which is slated to be torn down.

The school district said it wants to bring the Stewart building, which was badly damaged in a fire last year, up to 21st-century standards. Its intent is not to increase enrollment at the school.

Since the fire, Stewart students have been reassigned temporarily to nearby Beck Elementary School.