Residents of the rural Glenrose neighborhood, south of Spokane, are concerned about plans to build a sports complex there.
The Spokane Youth Sports Association has plans to construct a 20-acre sports complex in the neighborhood, but the neighbors fear it will bring complications to the area.
Bob Hyslop with the Glenrose Association says such a massive complex does not fit with the rural character of a neighborhood that is zoned one house per ten acres.
“As these developments come in they have a huge impact on our rural roads, so that’s number one. This particular development calls for stadium type lighting, and the lighting they are proposing will really light this area up. If you sit out here in the evening and look up at the sky, you can see the Milky Way , which you cannot do when you are in town,” Hyslop said.
Attorney Rick Eichstaedt, working on behalf of the neighborhood group, says they sent a letter with their concerns to the sports association's director, but only received a one-sentence letter in return, saying they disagreed with some of the specific concerns.
Among them was the definition the association and the county have for a community recreational facility, which Eichstaedt says does not fit this proposed facility.
“Think of a clubhouse or neighborhood pool. Those are the things that fit into a community recreational area. It's amusement, recreation, diversion for persons with the area it is located. If you look at what this project is supposed to be, it’s a regional facility. This is to serve not Glenrose, but the regional Spokane area,” said Eichstaedt.
John Pederson, the planning director for the county, disagrees with Eichstaedt's assessment of the definition. He says this complex does fit the description.
“The code definition is pretty specific for that activity. It talks about any public or private building for amusement or relaxation in the area in which it is located, but no definition regarding specificity with the area,” said Pederson.
Eichsteadt says he has also sent a letter with the residents’ concerns to the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board, which may be asked to provide funding to the project.
The Glenrose Association's Bob Hyslop says he hopes the Spokane Youth Sports Association officials will sit down and listen to the concerns of residents before proceeding with the project.
Philip Helean from the Spokane Youth Sports Association director offered no comment.
