Stonington — The chairman of the K-12 School Building Committee on Tuesday night defended the proposed parking plan for the West Vine Street School project, saying it was based on state security recommendations made in light of the Sandy Hook massacre and the need to accommodate bus and parent drop-offs and after-school events.

Rob Marseglia made the comments during the Planning and Zoning Commission’s second night of a hearing on a special use permit needed for the renovation and expansion of West Vine Street School. He added that one of the comments made by residents about the current school is that there is not enough parking and that both state and local police supported the proposed parking.

The commission then closed the hearing and approved the permit.

At the first hearing night last month, some commission members and residents raised questions about parking plans, saying the number of spots is excessive and questioning its location.

A total of 180 on- and off-site spaces are planned for the project, which the K-12 School Building Committee’s educational specifications say are needed. A total of 134 spots are striped and the rest are in drop-off lanes, the street and in an overflow lot behind the school. Marseglia said that during the committee’s public meeting on the plan, no one raised any concerns about the parking. He said three alternative locations were considered but they did not meet safety standards.

Commission Chairman David Rathbun said he would like to see a stone wall built on the site instead of berms and screening but money for it is not in the budget. The commission placed a stipulation on the approval that final decision on landscaping details will be approved by the planning department.

The project calls for a 22,500-square-foot addition that would boost the school’s size to 56,400 square feet and increase its enrollment from 193 students to 437, with third- and fourth-grade students moving to the school from West Broad Street School, which will be closed. Fifth-grade students also would move back to the school from Pawcatuck Middle School.

The commission already has approved similar plans for Deans Mill School in October. The work at the two schools is part of the $67 million renovation and expansion project that will get underway this coming spring and be completed in 2018. The project is designed to get another 50 years of life out of the two 48-year-old buildings. Both schools were built in 1967. Neither has received an update since then.

j.wojtas@theday.com