Volunteer Coach Gervacio Ortiz with a team of soccer stars — who now have a private training space.
A Fair Haven soccer troupe got the final green light to practice their sport in a vacant River Street warehouse, after playing several rounds chasing after city approvals.
The City Plan Commission gave that final approval in a unanimous vote to approve a coastal site plan proposal put forward by soccer coach Kiever Pintos, who has rented out a portion of a largely empty warehouse at 90 River St. to train kids at no cost.
Pinos pooled money from parents to get the cash to reserve 5,900 of the building’s 77,000 square feet to continue offering free coaching for Hispanic and Latino kids across New Haven in search of an active outlet, such as soccer, amid a struggle by the crew to find affordable, safe and dedicated spaces within the city to play.
Read in detail about Pinos’ volunteer work here. He said his idea for the River Street site is to coach kids in groups of 12 on a stretch of turf inside the huge warehouse owned by Patriot Marine CT LLC.
Before Pinos could lead dribbling lessons through the space, he first had to get parking and use relief from the Board of Zoning Appeals and then the environmental OK from the City Plan Commission.
The City Plan Commission barely debated the application before voting to approve at its most recent monthly meeting, with Commissioner Adam Marchand expressing his agreement “with the finding stated in the staff report that there’s no material impact on the coastal resources by this particular use.”
“The site is located in Fair Haven, which the comprehensive plan refers to as an Empowerment Zone with generally lower income levels and a need for improved community programs,” that staff report reads. “The neighborhood also has significant numbers of vacant structures. Offering family oriented recreational opportunities, and putting a vacant building to use, would align with challenges and goals identified in the comprehensive plan, and also stands to benefit residents in the neighborhood.”
City Plan commissioners fretted for hours during a hearing back in January about whether or not to allow parking relief at the scene. Read about that here.
The most recent hearing was held to consider potential impact of small-scale soccer practice on the Quinnipiac River. The sole debate focused once again, and more quickly this time around, on parking.
The previous rationale for permitting parking relief, Marchand said, was that so many people poised to play soccer at the venue already live nearby and may use alternative modes of transportation to access practice.
Which, Marchand continued, would “certainly make it convenient for people to bike there and park their bikes.”
In conclusion, the commission unanimously approved the project, meaning Pinos can start up soccer practices anytime. Still, Marchand said, Pinos should try to convince the landlord to bring bike racks to the site.
“I understand that it’s beyond their control. And this is not a condition. I would just give every encouragement to the applicant to try to make that happen,” he said. “It just makes sense.”
Encouraging more secure bike storage across the city makes perfect sense, along with improving bus access.
I’m glad this proposal got approved so more kids can play soccer indoors in all kinds of weather, year round, with adult supervision and coaching. Many a child will enjoy this along with their families watching them. Good family fun!