Uniformed youngsters with their fired-up parents were among the crowd that cheered or sneered at the goings-on in the tension-ridden auditorium of Kingsview Middle School in Germantown Monday night.
It had all the makings of a Saturday morning soccer game, which is fitting since county planners were listening to soccer advocates and adversaries testify about a proposed soccer complex at South Germantown Recreational Park.
"This isn't the decorum of a normal hearing," said planning board Chairman William Hussmann, who also served as the unofficial referee early on in the proceedings. "You'll either be quiet and have an orderly hearing or we're not going to have a hearing."
But even before the sometimes heated hearing got underway Monday, hundreds of people were getting their game faces on and making their position known.
Soccer moms and dads arrived with teams of players to serve as a visual reminder of what soccer proponents have been touting all along -- the sport has become an extracurricular staple among the county's youth.
Even D.C. United soccer players Marco Etcheverry and A.J. Wood were on hand, signing autographs and posing for snapshots with their amateur counterparts.
Outside though, it was the picket line of resident protesters carrying signs that read "This 'done deal' should come 'undone'" or chanting phrases like "three, four, five, six, we don't need no soccerplex" that greeted the throngs coming out for the hearing.
In the end, there were about 30 people who testified to county planners Monday why a proposed complex with up to 24 soccer fields will benefit the county or why the project is too big and is moving too fast toward becoming a reality. The public record will remain open until Nov. 23.
More than halfway into the hearing, Maryland Soccer Foundation spokeswoman Trisha Heffelfinger admitted the numbers of opponents to the plan gave her cause for concern.
"I'm not worried that the planning board isn't going to approve it; I'm worried they are going to delay it," Heffelfinger said. "For us, any delay would cause a year delay."
The $16.85 million plan calls for 23 fields plus an indoor arena and championship field with seating for 3,200 people. It was given the go-ahead for planning by the Montgomery County Council last spring.
Council members also required planners to include non-soccer recreational uses in the plans before allowing construction of soccer fields to move forward.
The soccer complex will be built in three phases, with the first phase -- including 16 fields plus the championship field and indoor arena -- coming in 2001.
Planners will decide next month whether to amend the 1996 park master plan that already allows for 13 soccer fields plus other recreational uses of the 658-acre park, located off Schaeffer Road and Route 118.
The other recreational amenities include an indoor swim center and tennis courts; bicycle motocross track; miniature golf course and golf driving range; baseball, softball and football fields; nature center; and adventure playground.
The board will meet in a work session Dec. 3 to decide whether the plan should move forward. The Montgomery County Council is expected to take the issue up again in late January.
Since county and state officials announced their support for the project last January, the arguments for and against the complex have remained constant.
Area residents who oppose the complex cite possible groundwater problems, plus the additional noise, light and traffic.
"We as a community are frustrated," said South Germantown resident Susan Burdette. "We feel our concerns are valid and have not been adequately addressed."
Moreover, residents living near the park do not want the number of soccer fields to exceed the 13 that were approved two years ago, or they want assurances that their lives will not be adversely affected by having nearly twice as many soccer fields.
At the same time, soccer proponents came out to testify about how much of an asset the complex will be to Germantown and the county.
"Our part of the county is lacking the type of facilities this park will bring," said Lee Norwind of Boyds. "The benefits of this park far outweigh any adverse impacts."
And numerous civic and citizen groups testified. Most said they backed the plan for a soccer complex but had conditions that included protecting the environment and ensuring area roads will not be clogged by soccer enthusiasts.
In addition, some requested more baseball and football fields, which they say are also lacking in the county.
And while Monday was the culmination of months of controversy about the complex and planning for it, county planners and council members will have to weigh the reams of information to decide what is best for everyone -- a fact one state official pointed out to planners Monday.
"Like any large project, it has opposition -- that is entirely normal," said Del. Peter Franchot (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park. "I hope the board will vote in the greater public's interest."
From the Gazette Papers