Roger Morrill is awaiting a decision from the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board regarding his concerns about the new sports park being built near his home.
Morrill is the mayor of Athabasca but is pursuing this matter as a private citizen. He appealed the project because he wants to ensure the sports park will not affect his property in any way.
The second meeting of the appeal board was held last Thursday at Athabasca Town Hall. Rob Balay from the Athabasca Regional Multiplex was there in support of the project.
The proposed Sports Park includes four softball diamonds, and Morrill is concerned with the diamond designed for bantam-age kids.
Morrill’s main concern with the project is that fly balls will land on his property, and this should be considered a safety hazard.
The diamonds are being built to baseball standards, but will only be used for softball.
Balay explained that they are planting trees that will grow into a natural buffer zone, and those, combined with the trees already there, should eliminate any chance of a fly ball landing on Morrill’s property.
“There is 6.5 metres on all sides of the diamonds, and that’s with a four metre fence,” Balay said. “As the trees grow up, (they) become a barrier as well.”
Balay explained that the ball diamonds meet the Safety Alberta standards.
“For a normal slo-pitch game, there were be very few balls that would hit a home run,” he explained.
“The buffer that we’re trying to provide, should provide protection for them.”
Morrill explained that there is 273 feet from home plate to his property.
The solution Balay suggested was to raise the height of the fence to protect Morrill’s property. Morrill said that wasn’t a good solution because he would be fenced in on his property.
Three exhibits of information were submitted during the hearing by the multiplex, but after the established deadline. The information was accepted, even though Morrill had no time to view it or gather information to rebut it.
Morrill said the appeal was fair, but disliked the fact that he didn’t have enough time to gather information to rebut the submitted documents.
The Appeal Board has up to 15 days to put out their written decision.
