Planners: Sportsplex is too big

The Albemarle County Planning Commission turned a cold shoulder Tuesday night to a proposed development on east Pantops that, according to a developer, would include the biggest indoor sports complex in the state.
The project’s developer thought the meeting was going to be a give-and-take of ideas. Instead, he said it turned into an “ambush.”
The proposal for a 94,000-square-foot sports complex near the intersection of U.S. 250 and I-64 is an idea that excites sport enthusiasts in the region and youth league leaders who compete year after year for limited field space in Albemarle and Charlottesville.
But a county report details a bevy of contradictions with its policies, according to the report. The athletic facility, called the Charlottesville Indoor Sportsplex, is too large for the county’s rural areas, the report said. The plan also includes a proposal for a car dealership, commercial and office space, as well as the right to build several homes that would be priced in the million-dollar range, the developer has said.
The sports complex would house four half-size soccer fields, four NCAA-sized basketball courts, a workout facility and restaurant.
Several commissioners said that rural area land should stay rural. To approve the plan, some said, would be like extending the county’s designated growth areas.
“This is a sea change in what the Comprehensive Plan would allow for this area,” said Commissioner Jon Cannon. “I would not feel comfortable at all proceeding with a project of this magnitude.”
Mike Harding, a developer who owns much of the property, said he was surprised at the tenor of the meeting and was hoping for more of a discussion.
“This is an ambush,” he said. “This is not a work session.” Harding said that he could accomplish the plan under existing zoning, which would mean the county would not be given acres of land that will complete area hiking trails. Harding said if he were to move the project 75 feet, he would not have a problem with rural area zoning.
“All of a sudden I’m violating rural character,” Harding said. “Let’s get real about this.”
Commissioner Linda Porterfield agreed with that sentiment. She said the reality is that there is a lot of development already in the area.
“I really think it’s hard to say today that that is rural property,” Porterfield said.
There were mixed views on the issue of the sports complex. Commissioner Tom Loach said an indoor sports complex is a good idea, and commissioners seemed to agree that the problem was in the location, not the idea, which would be a boon for sports enthusiasts.
The county report said there are few buildings in the county’s rural areas that are as big as the indoor complex. The report also pointed out that both the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors found that a 39,000-square-foot proposed facility by the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle in another part of the county was too big for the rural areas. The Pantops proposal is three times the size of SOCA’s proposal, which was shot down by supervisors last year.
Only three schools, the Earlysville Industrial Park building and the Hyosung America factory in Scottsville are bigger than the proposed sportsplex, the county’s report said.
A public hearing has been tentatively scheduled for May 13.