By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DEERFIELD TWP. - Residents can speak their minds tonight on Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy's revisions to its proposed athletic center, which has been under fire.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the township meeting room in Landen Station, 3292 Montgomery Road.

The long-discussed complex, originally planned to include 600 seats and several soccer fields at the 20-acre site on Snider Road, has been on hold, with two lawsuits challenging the township's approval of a conditional-use permit.

Now, the school in Sycamore Township is considering scaling back plans, including reducing seating at the soccer field to 200 seats, eliminating field lighting and cutting down on the original 250 parking spots.

The site would still have practice fields, but they would be surrounded by a split-rail, farmlike fence.

"It's like a park," says Greg Amend, Cincinnati Hills' project coordinator. "If I were a resident, I'd much rather have this than another subdivision. Basically, they're going to be looking at grass."

The fields would be used mainly for team practices.

The township's Board of Zoning Appeals approved the athletic complex in December with several conditions. The school contended that the restrictions were too tough, and filed a lawsuit in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

Former neighbors also filed a lawsuit, arguing that the township's conditions were not tough enough. The neighbors maintained that the fields would bring traffic and noise too close to nearby homes.

Those lawsuits have not yet gone to court.

If you go

What: Meeting to discuss proposed athletic center at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy

When: Today, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Landen Station, 3292 Montgomery Road, Deerfield Township

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com