Sandy Springs Planners Reject Proposed Galloway School Fields

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Sandy Springs, GA -- A private school seeking to build new recreational fields in Sandy Springs suffered a bit of a set back earlier this month as the city’s Planning Commission recommended denial of the request.

At their Dec. 17 meeting, commissioners unanimously recommended denial of a petition from Buckhead-based The Galloway School to obtain a use permit to build a softball field, tennis courts, a parking lot and accessory structures such as a dugout, concession stand and restrooms.

The land in question, which consists of two parcels, totals 8.36 acres at the southern end of High Point Road, which borders the city of Atlanta. The property is owned by former NFL star Warrick Dunn.

The land, which is currently undeveloped and heavily wooded, is actually situated in a flood plain and can’t be developed under the R-3 residential zoning district, the current category it falls under.

According to city staff, the proposal calls for a softball field with two dugouts, a roughly 2,600-square-foot indoor hitting facility, a 2,450-square-foot restroom/concessions/maintenance building, tennis courts and a surface parking lot with 55 spaces.

The petitioner also seeks variances to allow curb cut access from High Point Road, and to encroach into required minimum 50-foot buffer and 10-foot improvement setback for construction of a parking lot and tennis court.

City staff members have received hundreds of correspondence on the proposal. As of early December, 236 emails were sent to city staff about the project: 143 in opposition and 93 in favor. The city notes those in opposition cite concerns as traffic, the “destruction” of the tree canopy, impact on the ecological value of the site and neighboring Nancy Creek, flooding concerns and the appropriateness of the proposed use in a residential area. 

Sandy Springs’ elected officials will take up the request at its Jan. 19, 2016, City Council meeting.

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