A proposed 50-meter swimming pool that would be built in the bTC village of Hickory Ridge is an ill-conceived project that would bring noise and increased traffic to the neighborhood, a group of residents told the county Board of Appeals last night.
"The increase in noise, lights and traffic will make it a less valuable neighborhood," said Burl Binkley, an Elkridge resident who owns property on Harmel Drive across the street from the proposed pool, which would be built on Cedar Lane and Harmel. "It is much more difficult to sell a house when it has a blemish like a swimming pool."
About 65 people attended the board's third hearing on a proposal by Columbia Association swim coach Jamie LeGoff, who wants to build a bubble-topped, Olympic-size swimming pool.
The proposal has divided Hickory Ridge residents who packed board hearings in the past month. Last night's hearing began about 8 p.m. and at 10:30 p.m., the board was still taking testimony from the remainder of about 30 residents who had signed up to testify.
Before the yesterday's hearing, chairman George Layman said he expected the board to make a decision on the proposal during a later work session.
Under the proposal, an off-white, 40-foot-high fabric bubble, supported by a frame, would cover the pool. The pool would serve 800 families and provide a place to train young county residents for national and international competitions, its backers say.
In July, the county Planning Board and Department of Planning and Zoning recommended against granting Mr. LeGoff a special exception to the area's residential zoning, citing traffic hazards and the visual impact of the bubble.
Opponents of the proposed $3 million project say it would be an eyesore and would increase traffic in the area.
The project is "inherently incompatible with the surrounding residential community," said Hickory Ridge resident Ronald Jones. "It will be an unsightly bubble on a small lot . . . surrounded by barbed wire."
Richard Boales, who lives near the site of the proposed pool, said nearby homes would "suffer in terms of value and resale."
He showed the board a sketch drawn to scale of the proposed bubble top. In the drawing, it towered over nearby houses and trees. Mr. Boales criticized plans to screen the top with trees because they would not hide the top during the winter.
But Mr. LeGoff's attorney, Ronald Schimel, argued that the top ++ would be peaked and, therefore, not as visible to nearby residents.
John Skrief, who submitted a petition with 45 signatures of opponents, said the proposed pool would exacerbate traffic on already heavily traveled roads, such as Cedar Lane and Owen Brown Road.
"This would be an unfathomable increase in traffic," said Mr. Skrief, adding that traffic noise is so loud at times that he has to close the doors to his house to talk on the telephone.
Proponents say the proposed pool would enhance the community, and that it's necessary for swimmers to remain competitive. Currently, swimmers said, they are forced to travel outside the county to practice in a 50-meter pool because county pools are half that size.
At times, board members criticized residents for not providing proof that the proposed pool would decrease the value of their properties. "I think it's a lot of NIMBY-ism (Not In My Back Yard)," said Mr. Layman, the chairman. "Or why else would we have special exceptions if it would devalue the property next to them."
Mr. LeGoff said he plans to raise money for the project through bank loans and financial backers.
So far, he said, he has spent about $19,000 of his own money in architects' and surveyors' fees. He said he was forced to withdraw a $10,000 down-payment on the 7 1/2 -acre property on which the pool would be built in order to pay for an attorney and consultants in land planning and traffic engineering.