Neighbors rally around the sculpture at “The Fly” on Feb. 15. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell is “considering” a request made Thursday by opponents of the proposed Carrollton Boosters sports complex for a committee meeting to discuss the possibility of an Interim Zoning District over the The Fly at Audubon Park.
The request was in the form of the letter on the council’s consent agenda, a list of routine items that are approved all at once rather than individually voted upon. Adrienne Petrosini, who sent the letter, said referring the IZD request to the Community Development Committee would start the “process of protecting one of the last remaining passive recreational spaces in Audubon Park,” and compared it to the public input allowed by the City Park master plan.
“Putting in place an IZD is the only way to ensure that the community is informed and has all the issues addressed by the City Planning Commission and the Council before this drastic, irreversible development takes place, a development that has such an impact on such an invaluable piece of park property,” Petrosini told the council. “…The proposed development has too many unknowns in both its design, its impact and true intent, and cannot be allowed to move forward.”
The council noted that the item would be “marked received and referred to the Community Development Committee.” That does not, however, guarantee that the committee will include such a hearing on its next agenda, according to City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell’s office.
“It has been referred to the Community Development Committee, but that doesn’t mean the committee must take it up, nor has the committee has agreed to take it up,” said David Winkler-Schmit, a spokesman for Cantrell, in an email to Uptown Messenger on Friday. “That being said, the District B Office is considering it.”
City Councilwoman Susan Guidry — who represents the area including The Fly — is also involved in discussions over how to handle the request for an IZD, her office said.
“We will be in contact with Cm. Cantrell’s office to determine what the best course of action is for consideration of this request,” said Gordon McLeod, Guidry’s director of land-use issues. “This has not been determined yet as of this time.”
The “Save the Fly” Facebook group, the primary organizing vehicle for opponents of the Carrollton Boosters sports complex planned for the center of the space, described Thursday’s development with enthusiasm.
“Save the Fly is encouraged and believes that viable alternatives exist that would allow for this soccer complex to be built while preserving one of the City’s last open and public green spaces along the River,” the group wrote.
One side said wants to keep arguably the loveliest area of Audubon Park for everyone. The other side was to privatize it and close it off to the public.
What’s the debate?
This is not about soccer. This is about cutting down trees, destroying an award-winning pavilion, turning green spaces into parking lots, and building bleachers that will block out the river view.
It boggles my mind how anyone can justify doing this. This is not for the greater good; this is for the self-centered few.
Hear, hear. Just don’t expect any support for your views from Ms. Cantrell, the developers’ sweetheart. Hopefully, Ms. Guidry will see the sense in your comments and appreciate the broad public indignation at the potential loss of open green space. Unlike Ms. Cantrell, she has a lot of potential votes on the line here.
I’m a huge fan of Ms. Cantrell. She is not part of the establishment; Stacy Head is. When Ms. Cantrell examines this further, she will do the right thing. Ms. Head, unfortunately, is glued to her uptown connections, although she would be the last person to admit it.