A new track and field for Episcopal High School was approved by the city council on a recent public hearing that happened.
The decision came after lengthy discussions about the required deforestation and reforestation efforts involved with the plan, which includes building a new track and field, a small building to provide shelter during lightning storms, a parking lot and a signaled pedestrian crossing on West Braddock Road across from the entrance to Fort Ward Park.
The plans for the Episcopal's new field is part of the long-term campus redevelopment and will replace the Hoxton field. Hoxton field was built in the 1930s and was never renovated ever since then. The Hoxton field no longer meets regulation standards which explains why it's due to be replaced. According to the redevelopment plans, the old site of Hoxton field will be replaced by dormitories.
A notable part of the track and field project – and the aspect that caused the most discussion among city council members – is the sizable deforestation efforts, and the ensuing reforestation plan, that must take place at the heavily wooded northwest portion of campus.
Efforts of the school for reforestation has been happening since 2007 and has resulted in more than 300 trees planted. Part of the plan includes maintaining 1.3 acres of tree canopy along West Braddock Road and planting a minimum of 71 trees at the site of the new field to replace those that will be removed during construction.
“The school is committed to being a good neighbor and has come up with a remediation plan which staff believes will help ensure that the site [retains] as much of its dense wooded character as possible,” Lucarelli said.
The size of the trees that applicant would use to replace those being cut down was questioned by some.
“The trees that you’re going to be cutting down are roughly 50 years old I understand, according to pictures that were taken 50 years ago … now you have these huge trees on there,” Pepper said. “Are you going to give us these little, teeny tiny things, and it will take 50 years to grow or are we going to have something that’s substantial?”
According to Principal Planner Dirk Geratz, it is most likely that the new plantings would be 2 and 1/2 inch saplings that would take some time to grow.
The location of the proposed curb cut and the resulting signaled pedestrian crosswalk on West Braddock Road was questioned by Council Amy Jackson. Her concern is that the proximity of the signaled crosswalk to an already existing one on Howard Street could raise some problems in the long run.
Jackson also expressed concern about parking and the impact of parking on adjacent neighborhoods. She noted the amount of traffic the school will draw since the field will host events for other city schools, including T.C. Williams High School. The T.C. field is scheduled to undergo a major stadium rebuild beginning this summer.
A motion to approve staff's recommendation of Episcopal's proposed plan was put forward by Pepper. The Department of Transportation and Environmental Services staff requires that the staff provide a traffic analysis and update moving forward. The motion as unanimously approved by the council.
