Contributed photo
These kids can't drive or park on River Street, but they'll be able to kick the ball.
What if 12 kids playing soccer in a vacant warehouse becomes 200?
City Plan commissioners debated that allegedly nightmare scenario for an hour before deciding they could live with it after all — as long as the number of players, benchwarmers and spectators doesn’t escalate beyond that cap.
During their latest online meeting Wednesday night, the commissioners were considering whether or not to recommend zoning relief for a pitch to bring turf and teamwork to an empty, industrial building at 90 River St. Read more here about that plan pitched by local coach Kiever Pinos, who has been training Latino and Hispanic children and teens to play soccer at no cost for more than a decade with a dedicated crew of parents and volunteers.
The Board of Zoning Appeals will take the final vote on whether or not to permit a special exception for zero parking spaces at the scene, as well as a use variance allowing for soccer games in an area designated for “industrial marine” purposes.
On Wednesday, commissioners were tasked with deciding whether to encourage or dissuade the BZA to vote in favor of that idea.
The building rented out by Pinos and company has an assigned maximum capacity of 649. Pinos has said that he intends to use a small portion of the warehouse to train 12 kids at a time in back-to-back, hour-long sessions, and to hold games of six on six players each weekend.
With 20 spots available in an adjacent lot and ample street parking surrounding the property, no parking should be necessary, Pinos had argued during a recent BZA meeting. Under zoning rules, 163 parking spaces are typically required for the address.
But what would happen, city commissioners asked Wednesday night, if the soccer series grows in popularity and attracts far more than 12 kids?
“I have a lot of experience going to such facilities, being a soccer dad,” Commissioner Adam Marchand said. “They say they’re gonna hold it at 12 kids. It’s very likely that won’t be the case, because if I’m a parent bringing my kids to soccer practice, I’ll be bringing some other kids too.”
Plus, each hourly practice transition would likely already see overlapping crowds of up to 30 cars, he speculated.
“Of course we should have more kids playing soccer, yes!” he declared. But not, he argued, if that meanst flooding a neighborhood with hundreds of cars.
“There’s a significant gap between what the applicant says is the intention and what the maximum capacity is,” he observed.
“That’s the same food I was chewing on,” Chair Leslie Radcliffe agreed.
Thomas Breen photo
The single-story warehouse at 90 River St.
City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said he doubts the soccer community would grow large enough to cause problems on the industrial street.
“I think there is little to no traffic on River Street,” he told commissioners. “It was many moons ago a favorite spot for street racing, which I think speaks to its out of the way, low-volume characteristic.”
Plus, maximum occupancies are often unrealistic estimates, he said. Take the Dixwell Community House, for example: “You could get some stratospheric numbers of how many people you can pack into the Q House, but we’ve never gotten anywhere near that,” Zinn said.
In a previous meeting, Attorney Ben Trachten estimated that at least 100 street spots could accommodate cars of players and their fans.
Furthermore, Zinn said, who says everyone would be traveling to the facility in cars?
“I don’t see it as a problem,” Commissioner Carl Goldfield stated. “The area is pretty dead. It would be great to get something in there and give kids an opportunity and a location to play soccer.”
For an hour the crew of commissioners passed back and forth potential restrictions to prevent the possibility of soccer kids storming the industrial riverfront.
They kicked around potential estimates of how many people might show up at a weekend soccer game. They questioned how many cars the area could really sustain. What about limiting the warehouse to practices and barring games before deciding to suggest an imposed people cap overriding the official maximum?
Finally, Marchand prposed an idea: Recommend the BZA give Pinos the green light — but on the condition that no more than 215 people, around a third of 649, are in the building at any time.
That will give Pinos room to grow, Marchand said, while adding “some protection from them taking a big left turn and suddenly hosting events that spill all over the place.”
The commissioners seconded the idea. Chair Radcliffe reflected on the merits of the project: “Soccer I don’t know much about,” unlike Marchand, she said. But she predicted the project “will bring some vitality and activity in the neighborhood.”
If the concern is REALLY over parking and traffic, it seems like the solution isnt dont allow Latino and Hispanic kids to play soccer but instead make it easy & safe to get there without driving.