Developers present plan for private sports complex; Mount Airy planning commission continues annexation review

Developers proposing a private athletic complex on the Warfield property told the Mount Airy Planning Commission on Sept. 29 that annexation into the town is necessary to obtain town sewer and to build an 8-field complex they say would address local field shortages and support local businesses.

Tim Park and Brian McKenna, the project principals and operators of Elite Baseball Maryland LLC, said the proposal would include four full 90-foot (high-school) diamonds, two artificial-turf youth diamonds, and two grass multipurpose fields, plus courts, playgrounds, pathways and a small indoor training facility. Park said the complex is intended to serve local athletes and families as well as regional tournaments. "Our goal is simple. We wanna show what this athletic complex can mean for Mount Airy," Park told the commission.

The petitioners asked the commission to recommend annexation and R-1 zoning so the project could pursue town water and sewer rather than an on-site septic layout the developers said would sharply limit field layout and restroom capacity. Attorney Andrew Bowersox (presenting for the petitioners) told the commission the parcel27s septic location and grading would make a large private facility impractical without sewer service.

Speakers who addressed the…