The Planning & Zoning Commission on Dec. 11 postponed consideration of a site‑plan amendment for Hardball Academy at 2907 West Parkwood Avenue after staff and neighbors raised concerns about how required landscape buffers, tree plantings and an opaque fence would interact with an existing drainage swale.

Staff told commissioners that final inspection revealed several deficiencies and that the applicant proposed a set of alternates: plant four live oaks in lieu of cedar elms, use wood rather than masonry for dumpster screening and install an 8‑foot wood fence along the residential property line to screen backyards from the baseball field. The site abuts single‑family yards and includes a swale that prevents planting in parts of the buffer area.

Owner Richie Beard said the field will be used for training and camps and that a continuous wood fence plus the existing mature trees would help screen activity. Staff noted the city’s usual requirement — an 8‑foot opaque fence with a tree every 25 feet — and that swales prevented meeting the tree spacing in some locations. Commissioners discussed alternatives including extending the outfield fence to connect to the dumpster area, resolving where double fences might be required, increasing fence height, or returning with a new 'equal or better' alternate screening plan.

Because the approved alternate was not physically implementable in parts of the parcel given the swale and existing tree locations, the commission voted to postpone the item to Jan. 8, 2026 so the applicant can provide a revised plan that preserves mature trees and meets screening/tree requirements or an acceptable alternative.

Staff said a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) would remain allowable while the parties work through the revised plan.