Key School's New Plans for Athletic Fields Still Upset Neighbors

A proposed athletic campus for the Annapolis Key School received a bit of a makeover in plans unveiled on Tuesday night, but neighbors in the Annapolis Roads community continued to voice their opposition to the project.

The Key School plans to transform the Annapolis Golf Club, a 67.5-acre site nestled in a quiet Annapolis community, into a series of athletic fields for its students and summer programs. The fields are about two miles from the school's Hillsmere location.

A revised plan for the development was shown off at a community meeting Tuesday night hosted by the Key School at Hillsmere Elementary School, in a packed gymnasium. In attendance were many from the Annapolis Roads community, who referenced more than 80 percent surveyed were opposed to the project.

The development team said they have tried to incorporate feedback from the community into their revised plan.

Among the changes in the new plan are one fewer tennis court, a swimming pool replacing a proposed running track, one fewer storage building and the removal of two fewer “specimen” trees. The proposed 103-car parking lot was also moved further south to provide a larger buffer between the community and the lot.

Though the complete site is 67 acres, 21 acres are in the critical area zone near tidal waters, and will not be developed. 

While addressing concerns about the existing golf course site, engineer Mike Drum said the storm water enhancements alone would make the site’s renovation better for the environment.

“It’s safe to say environmentally that this will be a better project with addressing storm water management,” Drum said.

The development team hosted a public hearing in September to show off their preliminary site plan, as part of the county’s requirements for development, but Anne Arundel County planners deemed a  revised plan presented in January significant enough to hold a second public hearing.

As part of the process, the development team accepted questions written on note cards. Most who asked questions were from the nearby Annapolis Roads community, and raised concerns about traffic, how late the fields would stay open, and the origins of the project.

One woman, who spoke out from the crowd without announcing her name, asked why The Key School was doing this in their community, even though most did not want it.

The president of The Key School’s Board of Trustees, Wes Jones, said the school had been searching for an appropriate piece of land to develop additional athletic fields, and the golf course site fit their needs.

“Why are we doing it? Because it was for sale and we had the means to buy it,” Jones said. “We think this is a good environment for everybody.”

Another man called out, asking why the school was ignoring the desires of the community, which was met with applause. Jones did not reply. Instead Charles Schaller, an attorney representing the school, said this wasn’t the appropriate time to address these concerns.

“We’re not going to have this discussion at this meeting. That discussion can occur after the meeting. The Key School has always been open to talking with you,” Schaller said.

Broaching other questions, Drum said the traffic study had not yet begun, but would likely be a requirement of the county as the project moved closer to completion, and that the fields would be closed by 6:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. at the latest.

The project is still in its earliest stages of development, but Drum said he expected the first shovel in the ground by summer 2014.