Sandy Springs OKs school’s athletic complex

Sandy Springs city leaders agreed Tuesday to allow a private school to build an athletics complex, including a football field, on a site near an established neighborhood.

The application by Holy Spirit Preparatory School divided the city council as well as longtime residents.

Some project opponents were visibly angered by the council’s 4-2 vote and complained leaders of the three-year-old city had broken a promise to protect the integrity of the neighborhoods.

“The intention was to provide better representation to the citizens of this area,” said Mark Wolfe, who opposed the project.

Holy Spirit is a Catholic school for children in pre-kindergarten through high school. It already has two academic campuses. The athletics complex will include an administrative building, a combined football and soccer field, seating for 400 spectators and tennis courts.

The site is an eight-acre parcel of undeveloped land off Long Island Drive, just south of I-285.

More than 200 residents and school boosters attended the council meeting Tuesday, spilling over into an adjoining room.

The city planning staff had recommended denial of the project, which needed a special use permit and four variances from city zoning laws. Critics complained it violated the city’s plans for land use.

Advocates argued the conditions imposed — such as limits on the number of games and hours of operation — would mitigate problems with traffic, noise and lighting. The council voted to limit the number of night home games to 12 a year and they would be required to end at 11 p.m.