Giant development wins school approval

Momentum at Babcock Ranch, one of the largest proposed master-planned communities on the west coast of Florida, continues to build. The latest: The Charlotte County School Board recently approved an application for a tuition-free public charter school inside the development, the Babcock Ranch Neighborhood School.

The public charter school will begin accepting enrollment applications this fall for the 2017-2018 school year, according to a statement. The school will be within walking distance of the earliest Babcock Ranch residents, the release adds.

BNS will be open to students in Kindergarten through 8th grade who qualify to attend a public school in Charlotte County. That includes out-of-district students allowed to request admission under Florida's new open enrollment law.