Politics & Government
A Possibility for Practice Lights at DHS
Board of Education submits revised proposal for stadium lights.
Lights may shine again at Darien High School’s stadium field this fall.
The Board of Education has put forth an application to Planning and Zoning for six portable lights at the stadium field, and a public hearing will be held Tuesday, September 8 at Town Hall.
These lights would be used for the fall season by Darien High School sports teams and would allow coaches to extend practices when Daylight Savings Time shortens the daylight hours.
“[The Board of Education’s application] tried to take last year’s trial and respond to some of the issues brought up, like generators,” said Jeremy Ginsberg, director of the Planning and Zoning Department. “There were many changes made.”
Unlike the generator-powered lights proposed in last fall’s trial, this year’s lights will plug directly into electrical outlets at the high school, eliminating any noise previously made by generators. Last year, the generators were described as making the same amount of noise as an idling Chevy Suburban.
The lights program from last year was discussed with the neighbors at a public meeting at DHS on Jan. 6 of this year. After that meeting, the Board of Education issued a report to Planning and Zoning.
“P&Z reviewed the report in February, and the feedback we got from them was it was a solid, balanced report,” said John Boulton, chairman of the Board of Education. “In the submission last week, we attempted to address the issues identified in the report as well as feedback from the P&Z Commissioners, a prime example being the noise and emissions coming from the generators. So, in that context, we did try to respond to neighbor concerns.”
If the proposal passes, the lights will be no higher than 20 feet, will be turned off no later than 6 p.m. and will not be used on Saturday or Sunday. In addition, as stated in the proposal, the lights will not be “directed at any neighbors.”
“The lights would be turned on each day when daylight conditions require their use,” the proposal reads.
Like last year, the lights will be used for practices only, said Ginsberg. “There is no proposal to use the lights for games,” he said.
There is also a specific starting and ending date for the portable lights. The program will be implemented the first Monday in November and will end at the conclusion of the high school football season.
