Board endorses concept for Charlotte Hall athletic fields; parking, phasing and school coordination remain open

The Recreation and Parks Board voted Thursday to endorse a concept plan to add multipurpose athletic fields on county-owned land adjacent to 5th District Park and Lehigh Dent Elementary School in the northern part of the county.

Consultants and county project staff presented a concept showing space for three full-size football/soccer/lacrosse fields with an optional fourth field if funding allows. Jonathan Blasco, an engineer with Mahaffey & Associates, and Chris Bologna of CSBI described the plan and the site constraints, including nearby streams, tree lines and a state-owned residential lot that could be acquired to expand parking.

Blasco said the design intentionally orients fields away from environmental features and aims to minimize new impervious surfaces; he said grading could rebalance a local knoll to allow an additional field if budget permits. The plan anticipates coordination with the school system: portions of the field complex overlap or abut school property, so the school board must review parking and bus‑turnaround options.

Board members and consultants discussed parking trade-offs. Consultants said the existing park and school parking could accommodate field uses for typical practices and weekend games, albeit with a modest walk from some parking areas. A separate school parking/bus-turnaround project would likely be needed for peak special events; that work was not included in the current Recreation and Parks capital proposal. Staff said construction funding for fields is proposed for FY2010 and that, if funded, crews would seek to seed and allow two growing seasons for turf establishment before full field use.

After questions and discussion, the board unanimously endorsed the concept plan and asked staff to proceed with the next steps: presenting the concept to the school board for comment, taking the plan to the planning commission for input, and pursuing design and engineering if commissioners approve construction funding.

The board endorsement was procedural (a concept endorsement only); staff said final design, permits and construction hinges on capital- budget decisions and any required intergovernmental agreements with the school system.