This committee was purely advisory with no authority to make any decisions. A variety of concerns were discussed and noted by Mr. Wert. He listed at the beginning of the meeting several areas of clarification. According to him, Henderson County and the HCSA want at least seven soccer fields, and would like more. There is no compromise with them on that issue.
The end result is that this discussion will be part of what the village council considers at their Monday, November 28, agenda meeting. That meeting will result in an action item for their regularly scheduled village council meeting on Thursday, December 8. They are trying to determine whether, given what the county wants, there is any possibility of the county meeting the village’s zoning and special use requirements for the property. Even though no specific plans have been submitted, as Mayor Staton said in an earlier letter:
In the best interests of all concerned, the council should endorse or reject the proposed project concept sooner than later. It would not be fair to anyone to drag that action out over the length of time required to document and process a use permit application.It’s my hope that the idea of the county purchase of the property for a soccer complex dies at the
But it’s not over 'til it’s over, so. . .
[Added info: One of the biggest concerns to the homeowners around the golf course property is distrust of the county and, tangentially, of the HCSA. Because of how this was handled at the county level (the signed option agreement not being disclosed until two months after signing, the insistence of the county commissioners that this was a "done deal" when it wasn't, the lack of communication with the village mayor and council, etc.), the worry is that even if the county agrees to limit development, once they own the property they'll do what they like. I think this is a very valid concern.
Unfortunately, the HCSA has been tarred with this brush as well--and it doesn't help that they already have a lease contract with the town of Fletcher that they are backing out of. It's valid to wonder whether the HCSA might do the same thing here and leave the village with a torn-up piece of abandoned property at one of the gateways into Historic Flat Rock.]
Oh, as a Friend of Highland Lake I would hate to see this happen to such a lovely and peaceful locale! The people of the area did not sign up for living on the fringe of a huge soccer complex, with its loudspeakers, referees' whistles, bright-lights and the possibility of the well-known soccer hooliganism! Is the quality of life for the neighborhood not considered, or do the powers-that-be want it known that the area, through their underhanded tactics,is not such a good place for peaceful, quiet families and retirees after all? This is the kind of thing that, once it gets out (which has evidently already begun) can put a bad smell in a county for years to come! Do the right thing, County Commissioners and others with the power to do something to prevent this: No Soccer Field in Highland Golf Villas, Highland Lake Village, and Statonwoods!
ReplyDelete