Last summers big debate in Fairfield will resurface in a few weeks. The Plan and Zoning Commission has agreed to hear public comment on the towns plan to build a softball field on Hoydens Lane at its next meeting, five months after it was originally scheduled for discussion. Scott Walker will go before the board next month to see if Maddie Russell and the rest of his girls will finally have a field of their own.
This is going on the third year that Walker and Fairfield Little League Girls Softball have been wrestling with the field issue. "Our board -- and our girls -- are frustrated that we can't find a workable solution to a serious problem," Walker said last spring.
Fairfields Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting have all approved $350,000 in bonding to construct the field on town land on Hoydens Lane. Opponents gathered enough signatures to bring the issue to a referendum in August. More Fairfielders voted against the plan than for it by a margin of 2,398 to 1,199. But 8,848 votes against the field were needed to overturn the RTMs decision.
Many of the opponents objected to the plan for financial reasons. Fairfield resident Karen Sussman wrote in a letter to TheDailyFairfield in the lead-up to the referendum, It is inappropriate for the town to bond $350,000 on a non-essential recreational facility given the current state of the economy.
But the Plan and Zoning Commission can base its decision only on whether the fields construction would be too intrusive on the neighborhood. The major issue will be traffic. If the board decides that the 72 vehicle trips per hour predicted by a traffic study are too much for the road, the league will have to find a new plan.
Walker, however, feels the field needs to be built. He says the league has been competing for space with other recreation programs for years now, and he is willing to make concessions to see the field finally built.
"The community is a critical stakeholder in the development of this property and we want to work with area residents to develop a fantastic recreational facility they will be proud of, Walker told TheDailyFairfield last May. This should be collaborative, not combative.
The public hearing is scheduled for March 8 at 7:30 p.m. If the plan passes, it should be ready by the 2012 season.
Do you think the softball field should be built? Sound off in the comments below.
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
