Soccer complex off Newtown Pike passes first approval step, with more debate to come.
A proposal to create soccer fields off Newtown Pike for a new professional soccer franchise was approved by the Lexington Fayette Board of Adjustment, the first of many steps to come.
The conditional use permit would allow the one time creation of soccer fields and tournaments for the Lexington Sporting Club on agricultural rural land between Newtown and Russell Cave. The staff recommended numerous restrictions, including a requirement that requires LSC games to work around the sales schedule of nearby Fasig Tipton.
The proposal passed 6-1. The only no vote was from member Harry Clarke, who joined the vast majority of speakers during a six-hour meeting on Tuesday to express fear that Lexington’s protected farmland would be irrevocably broken by a non-agricultural use.
“This issue goes far beyond the 12 soccer fields,” Clarke said. “It goes to the critical issue of land use in the Bluegrass, an issue that has been debated over and over again. To prove a conditional use on this land used for the training of horses... would set a dangerous precedent and would open the door to a great deal more commercial development. It represents a serious encroachment on the rural land we hold so dear.”
The land is currently owned by developer Dennis Anderson, who owns the farmland and land nearby that is zoned for economic development where the Lexington Sporting Club’s professional team would play. The fields would take up about 60 acres, including a 750-car parking lot for tournaments. LSC made several changes to the plan before the meeting, including a 50-foot barrier of trees and a six-foot fence around most of the property.
The lengthy meeting — more than six hours into Tuesday evening — encompassed mostly opposition, passionate and numerous appeals to turn down the proposal because of traffic concerns on Newtown Pike and the impact on the nearby horse farms. The land for the fields was most recently used as a training facility, with barns and a practice track. Lexington’s zoning allows recreational facilities in the AR zone. It will be up to the Planning Commission to determine if the fields can have lights or concessions. Numerous questions also remain about traffic studies and what kind of sewage system will be used.
A statement Tuesday night from Lexington Sporting Club said “agriculture is paramount in Central Kentucky,” and “we are fully committed to being worthy neighbors.” About 1,400 kids have already signed up to play in LSC’s youth leagues.
Major arguments over the proposal centered on how intense the use will be, especially during tournaments.
Attorney Bruce Simpson represented the Fayette Alliance, which opposes the project. He said horses and agriculture were Lexington’s brand and most important industry.
“You’re being asked tonight to put a chink in that boundary,” he said. “In terms of the importance of this community, this boundary needs to be protected and the agricultural community needs to be protected.”
Several speakers said they supported the idea of the soccer complex, just not where it was proposed.
But BOA member Chad Walker, who has two properties in the PDR program, noted that the soccer complex only uses a third of the total land being sold. “Overall, it’s a way for kids to enjoy the Bluegrass,” he said. “It’s hard for me to hear arguments of conservation when Fasig Tipton has a lot of buildings and impervious surfaces.”
Member Chad Needham grew up on a nearby horse farm and played soccer. He voted yes. “I do believe that horse farms, neighbors, even soccer fields can coexist,” he said. “I’ve thought about this, I feel like it’s important for them to coexist.”
Board members also pointed out that conditional use projects are reviewed every year for possible problems. The furor reminds me a bit of the saga over Boone Creek Outdoors, when Burgess Carey proposed putting canopy tours on his property near the Kentucky River. The zone change process was tortured, impassioned and much more heated on both sides of the issue than soccer has been so far. But Carey prevailed, and so far, I haven’t heard about the southern end of Fayette County being ruined by traffic or tourists or trash or any of the other dire things that were predicted. In fact, it sounds like a lot more people are getting the chance to experience the Bluegrass who never would have before.
The soccer complex is still a long way from fruition. Frank Penn, for example, a farmer and member of the Planning Commission who will be voting on future aspects of it, spoke on Tuesday and made his opposition perfectly clear. Still, whatever the final decision, it’s a testament to our planning process that so many possible outcomes can be achieved and most of all, that people are so passionate about the place they live.
