2007-11-15 JOHNS CREEK HERALD
Recreation serious business for Johns Creek
by Hatcher Hurd	write the author
November 27, 2007 Perhaps the most the contentious rezoning case yet to come before the Johns Creek City Council ended almost predictably in a compromise giving Mount Pisgah Christian School and community residents some of what they wanted but not all. Three out of the four proposed new ball fields are to remain without lights – only the soccer/all-purpose field, the one most interior to the recreation park, will be lighted. The school also got its figure for parking, which allows more space for recreation use. RELATED ARTICLES 2007-Nov-15 Should Johns Creek Councilman Johnson sit out MPCS vote? 2007-Nov-15 Johns Creek City Council sheds some light on Mt. Pisgah's ball fields So why did school officials walk away calling the decision a "10" and opponents of lighted fields come off with grim faces and disappointment? That is because both sides know time is on the side of the school. As more than one council member assured Mount Pisgah, the school can come back again with a lighting request in as little as 12 months. Since the project is five years away, the school can afford to be patient. Likewise, opponents of the lights know that as time goes by the likelihood that the council's stance will soften will increase. There are several reasons for this, but the bottom line is there will be lighted fields – probably all lighted – when they are completed. And once that happens, the pressure to light the fields at Newtown Park will grow, perhaps irreversibly so. It is most likely an inevitability that all of this will come to pass, and both sides know this. As stated before, there are several reasons. MPCS has one of the biggest churches in the city behind it with a lot of members who are well-heeled. That means clout. But Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church is not some rape and pillage developer threatening neighborhoods. Churches are recognized as community-building institutions within cities – and we're are not just talking about the big edifices, but weaving the human fabric of community. Mount Pisgah the church is committed to ministering to the world, with most of its attention focused on the five-mile radius surrounding its church. That is what Methodists do. But Mount Pisgah UMC is just one of many churches in Johns Creek with clout and money and a committed congregation. A bigger reason for the inevitability of lighted fields is there is an incredible need for recreation, especially for children. All schools will need to open their facilities to the community at large. They are after all the taxpayers who built those facilities to begin with. MPCS will be privately funded, a $12 million to $15 million facility that has pledged to provide all of the community access to its fields. Granted that is still to be negotiated, but that is what is on the table. How long will it be before the city can match even that investment? Yet the need is as great as any in the city. So what about Newtown Park? While the city is trying to come up with ways to fund and develop new recreational areas, there will be intense pressure to maximize its existing facilities such as Newtown. So is this the death knell for the folks around Brumbelow Road in terms of property values and quality of life? While residents may complain now about added noise, traffic and congestion as well as lighted fields, every real estate agent I know markets the proximity of a park children can walk or bike to as a big amenity for the property. How much of a distraction is it to have kids yelling on a Saturday morning? Mayor Mike Bodker says it is a concern because his Saturday morning sleep-ins are interrupted by soccer moms cheering in the park that abuts his home. "But I knew that when I moved there," he said. I imagine he also looks forward to the day when his twins are playing soccer on those same fields and he just cuts through his backyard to see them play. That brings up another issue of community life. By definition it is communal. That does not mean everyone shares all burdens equally. It takes a lot of infrastructure to build a community, and some people are going to have to live with some of the side effects. Let's remember the site is former landfill. Some people have to live where roads must be widened. Some will live next to a new Johns Creek wastewater treatment plant. Some will live next to the new high school going up. Others must live next to water towers. Why are these people asked to "sacrifice" for the good of the community? The plain unvarnished truth is, all of these things have got to go somewhere or you don't have a community. We have zoning to protect us from invasive land use. In light of that, lighted fields are a poor second to almost any other infrastructure infringement. Indeed, there is no clear public mandate against the lighting of these fields. The City Council made a cautious but prudent decision to let the recreation fields proceed. Time will tell if this is just the first step, but it is one that may not be avoidable. - www.northfulton.com

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