Friday, June 21, 2002
An adjacent landowner will consult with others before deciding whether to appeal.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- By a 3-0 vote, the township zoning board of appeals has approved a special-use variance for a proposed All-Star Sports Complex.
Voting in favor were board chairman Loran Brooks and board members George Kelso and Bales McCall. Board member Eli Alexander was absent Thursday, and board member Tom Allen was excluded from voting because he did not attend the first part of the hearing June 3. The board had postponed its decision until Thursday to give its members more time to study the proposal.
Barry Tancer of Laurel Hills Lane, president of the All-Star Sports Complex, proposes to have the center built on 89 vacant agriculturally zoned acres on the east side of Columbiana-Canfield Road (state Route 46), about 450 feet north of Western Reserve Road.
"The people of Canfield Township want green space, and they also want recreation for their kids. To me, this is a great complex. I wish you all the luck in the world to fulfill your dreams here on this property," Brooks told Tancer just before casting his affirmative vote. Brooks also said the project will generate tax revenue for the township and schools without burdening them.
Considering an appeal
Louise Rulli of Poland, co-owner with her husband, Frank, of land adjacent to the proposed complex, where they intend to build three single-family residences, said she would consult with "a coalition of neighbors" and a lawyer before deciding whether to appeal the board's decision to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court within 30 days.
She had told the board earlier this month that the area would no longer be a quiet place to live after the complex is built.
The complex, which Tancer said would be built in phases over five to 10 years, will consist of a 150,000- to 200,000-square-foot building, including a full-sized baseball or softball field, two lacrosse fields, two soccer fields, basketball and volleyball courts, indoor golf simulators, an Olympic-size swimming pool, workout areas, a pro shop and store, locker rooms and a concession area. The exterior will consist of fields for baseball, lacrosse and soccer.
The first phase, estimated to cost $1.5 million to $2 million, is to consist of indoor baseball and lacrosse fields and exterior baseball and soccer fields.
Tancer has said he plans to have the indoor portion of the first phase completed before next winter and to begin work on the exterior baseball and soccer fields next spring.
"What they're trying to do is bring in development on this land that should be agricultural and residential. Canfield doesn't need the growth from all sides," Lori Yanacos-Clark, an opponent of the complex who lives nearby on state Route 46, said after the board's vote.