Commissioners Vote to Defer Soccer Field Application

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted to defer Concorde Fire Soccer Club's application to build a soccer playing field Tuesday night.

The club’s special use permit application seeks approval for two soccer fields, a one story 2,500 square-foot clubhouse, and 150 parking spaces in a residential district off Johnson Ferry Road.

"The Commission, as you know, has just ended probably one of the most horrific budget cycles I've served on since I been on this board," Commissioner Elaine Boyer said after making the motion to defer the application.

"I'd like to have the opportunity to meet both with the council, walk the property, and I'd like to be able to sit with staff once they've reviewed the studies."

More than 100 residents showed up to the Maloof Center Auditorium in Decatur donning red shirts in opposition of what has become a controversial topic in Brookhaven. The club's supports wore Concorde Fire Soccer t-shirts. Dozens of Concorde's players came out wearing their soccer uniforms.

Some residents in the community who live near or adjacent to the property, expressed concerns that the new facility would contribute to the already congested traffic along the two-lane road, increase noise, and disturb the environment which they believe are wetlands.

Proponents of the new facility however, deny that wetlands exists per three hydraulics reports. Supporters said that there would be no additional traffic since users of the new field already are using existing fields in the area at the local YMCA and neighboring parks.

Fay Ann Sherris, a resident from Fielding Park Court, and a spokesperson for the Stop Concorde Fire Soccer group, spoke for 10 minutes in opposition of the land use permit and urged commissioners to deny the proposal that Concorde Fire Soccer Club was seeking.

"The soccer club would deteriorate the ability of residents in our community to enjoy our neighborhood and would affect our quality of life," Sherris told the commissioners. "It will not be used for the neighborhood. You cannot shove this soccer complex in the middle of our neighborhood. This is not the expansion of existing use. This is the creation of a private park, for a private club at the expense of the environment and the neighborhood."

Conversely, Corcorde’s attorney Kathy Zickert, said she thought the resdients' concerns about building the field on wetlands are unfounded.

"This is nonsense. I have three hydraulics report. Three. It's not made up," she said.

Zickert speculated some residents might believe that because a stream is on the property, it automatically constitutes a wetlands classification.

She said three conditions factor into the classification of the property being designated as wetlands:
•        The nature of the soil
•        The nature of the vegetation
•        The degree of saturation.

All three have to be present and fit specific criteria, which it does not, she said.

Larry Lord, president of the Concord Fire Soccer Club said he was happy that all of the commissioners were willing to be open to discussion from both sides and hopes to come to a resolution that both groups can live with.

"Hopefully this will give us a chance to move to the next stage, which is you give up a little bit, and we'll give up a little bit or you let us come in, and we can make some modest modifications. Hopefully there's someplace in the middle we can meet," Lord said.

Correction: This article incorrectly stated the size of the proposed club house of the Concorde Fire Soccer Club. The group significantly reduced the size of the proposed facility since the last published article and was incorrectly printed on materials from the county commission meeting Tuesday night. We regret the error.