Goshen High School athletic upgrades approved with conditions after debate on trees, lighting and parcel consolidation

Planning staff outlined a broad package of use and developmental variance requests for Goshen High School (501 Lincoln Way East) that would convert the grass soccer field to artificial turf, enlarge bleachers and dugouts, replace and reconfigure field lighting and throw areas, install new perimeter fencing and windscreens, add scoreboards, and allow reduced setbacks adjacent to residential zoning. Staff presented a set of commitments intended to reduce neighborhood impacts, including orienting freestanding signs northward, requiring black metal fencing rather than bare galvanized material, limiting windscreen signage and opacity, specifying a technical engineering review, and a street-tree planting commitment along 10th, 12th and Reynolds Streets.

Chris Potratz, attorney representing Goshen Community Schools, told the board the changes would allow the landlocked high school to use the game field daily for practice and better accommodate crowds. "This field is going to be a great improvement," Potratz said, noting the bleacher capacity would increase substantially—from about 400 to about 1,600. Potratz also asked the board to modify two conditions: narrow the street-tree requirement to allow feasible planting and change parcel-consolidation wording so the school has a stronger say in how parcels are combined. He emphasized lighting design with a sharp cutoff; an engineer present told the board proposed lights would produce about 0.2 foot-candles at the property line versus about 0.5 from adjacent street lighting, reducing off-site glare.

Board members debated the tree requirement—several expressed concern that large-species street trees could reduce usable practice space by 10–30 yards in places and asked staff and the school to identify appropriate species and locations. Staff said administrative technical review and the city forester could approve narrower species or alternative placements without returning to the board. A motion to adopt staff recommendations with two amendments (change "large species street trees" to "street trees" and change parcel consolidation language from "determined by the auditor" to "recommend" the auditor) was moved, seconded and adopted; the record shows the amendment vote recorded as 4–1 and the final motion passed thereafter.

Alan Metcalfe, associate superintendent for Goshen Community Schools, said staff and the school will try to protect playable field width and work with the city on tree placement. "We're trying to keep the practice field as true as possible to a play field," Metcalfe said. The board adopted the variances subject to the amended commitments and administrative technical review.