Layhill residents on the ball with complex questionsNeighbors discuss effects of sports fields on area with state, county officials
Since the 70-acre complex is sure to happen, residents say they must advocate and negotiate for what they would like to see, such as noise controls, traffic calming measures and lighted tennis courts. ‘‘I think it’s a good idea,” said resident Alan Shifflett. ‘‘I just want to make sure [that] in the night and early Saturday morning I don’t hear anything.” Silver Spring residents living off Norbeck and Norwood roads met June 13 with Rick D’Arienzo of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and representatives from the State Highway Administration about the complex proposed for Norbeck Road, east of the intersection with Layhill Road. The SHA and M-NCPPC will be working together on the project as part of the Community Stewardship Project for the Intercounty Connector, a six-lane, 18-mile toll highway that will stretch from Interstate 270 in Gaithersburg to Interstate 95 in Laurel. The SHA will be responsible for building ball fields, some trails, a maintenance facility and the restrooms, while M-NCPPC will be responsible for the rest of the trails, maintenance of the park, lighting and irrigation, D’Arienzo said. The complex will have a variety of facilities including three soccer fields, one baseball field, one football field, a picnic and playground area and a restroom. The park also would include 322 parking spaces, reforestation and wetlands, stormwater management ponds, as well as trails to connect the ball fields, which would be lighted and fenced. Samuel Eng, president of the Llewellyn Fields Homeowners Association, said the sports complex was going to happen no matter what neighbors thought, so it was important to negotiate the details. Eng said additional traffic into his neighborhood, located directly across from Norbeck Road and the site of the sports complex, concerned residents in his area. He also said safety was a concern if pedestrians and drivers would have to move across Norbeck Road at the complex entrance without a traffic light. ‘‘You can look at this park in isolation, but you’re going to have a much bigger mess if [traffic] is not thought out properly,” Eng said. Residents at the meeting said at least two new churches along Norbeck Road were going to be constructed. ‘‘I think on the weekends this is going to be a real jammed traffic [area],” said Youn Y. Bae, a resident who lives off Norbeck Road about a block away from the proposed complex. Eng also felt that the neighborhood was missing convenient access to lighted tennis courts, especially with Indian Spring Country Club now closed in preparation for a development with more than 700 single-family homes. James Hubert Blake High School, which is minutes away from the residential areas, also has tennis courts, but they are not lighted. Joe Fritsch, the chairman of the Mid-County Recreation Advisory Board and a resident of nearby Olney, said he was very impressed with the proposal so far, and hoped the fields would feature artificial turf. ‘‘[Artificial] turf allows the fields to be played on quicker after rain,” he said. ‘‘It provides more play time, [but] the negative is that it costs more.” D’Arienzo said he would be able to work with the community. ‘‘I feel very confident that we will reach agreement on most of these issues,” he said. He said the Montgomery County Planning Board would review the proposed complex during a preliminary planning hearing, which D’Arienzo estimated would not be until September. ‘‘That gives us a little bit more breathing time to address their concerns,” he said.
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