New Baseball Complex Meeting Set for Next Thursday

A community meeting about a new baseball park is set for next Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Willow Springs Elementary, 5400 Willow Springs Elementary Road. Here's more about the park, from Fairfax County:

The Fairfax County Park Authority will hold a second public comment meeting (the previous meeting was held last summer) at Willow Springs Elementary School on May 26 at 7 p.m. to present a revised Conceptual Development Plan (CDP) for Patriot Park North at Willow Springs, located at the corner of Braddock and Willow Springs School Roads, in Fairfax. Please refer to the accompanying Vicinity Map.

The Draft CDP was revised to account for the septic field locations approved by the Health Department and to incorporate an additional 90' diamond field and additional parking that will support baseball users and improved park usage. The revised CDP shows a wheel-shaped cluster of four 90' diamonds around a concession stand / press box building; two 60' diamond fields; picnic shelter; restrooms; playground; outdoor fitness stations; with associated facilities such as parking, food truck area, and trails.

The proposed upgrades serve a range of athletic and community recreation needs. This meeting will allow the public to comment on the draft CDP to further inform the planning and decision making process. The public comment meeting is followed by a 30-day public comment period, which will end on June 27, 2016. Comments can also be provided throughout the process by email to: parkmail@fairfaxcounty.gov. Refinements to the final plan will be made, if necessary, based on public input and presented to the Park Authority Board to consider approval in fall of 2016.

The Fairfax County Park Authority initiated the public master planning process for Patriot Park North at Willow Springs, located at the corner of Braddock and Willow Springs School Roads, in Fairfax, with a public comment meeting at Willow Springs Elementary School in July 2015.

The Draft CDP presented at that meeting showed a wheel-shaped cluster of three 90' diamonds around a concession stand / press box / restroom building; two 60' diamond fields; picnic shelter; playground; outdoor fitness stations; with associated facilities such as parking, food truck area, and trails. The presentation from that meeting is available here, as is the public comment summary from the meeting, and the background study of the site conditions.

The Park Site

Located at the corner of Braddock and Willow Springs Roads, Patriot Park North Park has 67 acres with three diamond athletic fields, parking areas, lawn, meadow, and forest areas. The park is classified as a local park and is located adjacent to Willow Springs Elementary School in the Bull Run Planning District, and is expected to serve the surrounding communities and local sport organizations.

The majority of the site was two parcels of surplus school property, transferred from the Board of Supervisors to the Park Authority, one in 2011, the other in 2012, with three diamond athletic fields, parking, and associated features that were constructed in the 1990s. Two more adjacent parcels were acquired by the Park Authority in 2014 to expand the park.

Few parks or schools have more than two diamond fields and there is a high need for a diamond field complex in the County that will serve a broader range of sports and provide a facility to accommodate tournaments. Patriot Park, located half a mile to the east along Braddock Road, was planned for such a complex, however, development of the diamond complex at Patriot Park will be significantly delayed until design and construction of the Shirley Gate Road Extension to the Fairfax County Parkway is completed.

This transportation project is currently in design but not funded for construction. Uncertainty about this transportation project and site access constraints will delay any construction at Patriot Park. The Park Authority engaged Pennoni Associates to perform extensive site analysis and develop a conceptual development plan to support a diamond field complex at the Willow Spring site that could potentially be developed sooner than the diamond complex planned at Patriot Park. As part of the planning process a park name will be established. In the meantime, it will be referred to as Patriot Park North at Willow Springs.

Patriot Park North at Willow Springs offers an alternative location for a diamond field complex. Several factors favor a diamond complex at this location. Three existing diamond fields establish an active recreation use of the site, adjacent to Willow Springs Elementary School that shares an access road and traffic signal. The site analysis conducted by Pennoni Associates has confirmed that the topography, vegetation, access to utilities, soils, and existing uses will support the proposed six diamond field complex. This site is located outside of the sewer service area and a septic system location within the park has been approved by the Fairfax County Health Department.

The Process

Through the master plan process, the Park Authority will engage park stakeholders through its public participation process to provide input to the Park Authority for consideration as part of the decision making process.

Comments can be provided throughout the process by email to: parkmail@fairfaxcounty.gov.