Residents in south Charlotte’s Madison Park area are pushing back against a proposal. The Dilworth Youth Sports Association wants to transform Madison Central Park into athletic fields. Plans call for three baseball diamonds and batting cages.
The property sits beside Pinewood Elementary. It has a playground and open grass. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools owns it.
Homeowners planted “Save Madison Central Park” signs across the area to show they’re against this. Will Clark lives in South Charlotte and backs the campaign. He said neighbors found out about the proposal late.
“This is our community neighborhood park; we certainly didn’t ask for baseball fields to be built over there,” Clark said, according to WSOC-TV. “It seems that we were the last to know about it.”
Kristina Fine belongs to the “Save Madison Central Park” group. She said residents discovered an executed agreement had already been made. Fine said neighbors aren’t against youth sports. But they want proof the project helps the community.
“We’re just asking for proof that it’s for our community and that it won’t negatively impact our community,” Fine said, calling for “traffic studies, parking studies, wildlife, noise, stormwater.”
Fine told WSOC-TV the group views this as a possible land grab. She said trust broke down between the community and those pushing the proposal.
“We think that once they have a stake in that land, they’re not going to stop, so at this point, we want our park to be preserved to be the same,” Fine said.
District representatives said no plans got approved yet. Officials said they’re talking with neighbors and hearing suggestions about compromises and other options for the site.
Nearly twelve neighbors plan to speak at next Tuesday’s school board meeting. Residents want board members to vote on the proposal instead of letting administrators approve it behind closed doors.