Politics & Government

Higher, Lengthier Football Lighting Proposed

The Board of Education and the Darien Junior Football League are both asking the Planning & Zoning Commission for permission to turn on the lights at town football fields for more nights, and the league is asking for higher lights.

A request by the Darien Junior Football League to raise its night lighting from 20 to 30 feet should not result in more glare for nearby homeowners—and in some ways it may even reduce it, according to league officials.

Neighbors living near both Holahan Field, behind Town Hall, and the Darien High School playing fields have complained in the past about the lights used by the high school and the football league for early-evening practice. The Planning and Zoning Commission has restricted use of the lighting to certain times and to no more than 20 feet above the playing fields.

Now, with their three-year permits expired, both the league and the school district are . This time, each also is asking for five-year permits and longer time periods to use the temporary lights (so that they could switch them on earlier in the year).

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The league is asking the P&Z to change town zoning regulations so that temporary lights could be as high as 30 feet in town. The school district isn't making that request, although the district would raise its temporary lights to 30 feet if the regulation is changed to allow that, schools Superintendent Stephen Falcone said at a Board of Education meeting last week.

Lights as high as 30 feet could be pointed down at a steeper angle the field rather than toward the high school, which would reduce the amount of light reflected off of the building, according to a memorandum from the league to Planning and Zoning commission members.

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"Raising the towers to 30 feet could further limit the amount of reflected light that has been perceived by the neighbors," football league officials wrote in the Feb. 21 memorandum.

"Because current zoning regulations require lighting towers to be limited to only 20 feet, in order to cover adequate field space for practices, the lights had to be directed at a more horizontal angle than they would be if towers could be raised to their maximum height of 30 feet," league officials said in the memo.

"Despite the use of shades on the various windows of the high school building and even a lower angle setting of some of the individual lights, this configuration still results in a greater light wash/hue on the high school facility surroundings than would be found if the all lights could be pointed in a more downward angle from the towers’ maximum 30 foot height," according to the memo.

League officials also suggested in the memo that more trees could be planted around the high school football field to better screen nearby homes from the lights.

The school district, with help from the league, planted 75 pine trees near the field in order to block more of the light from reaching residents.

"While the new screening will deliver a significant benefit to the high school’s northern neighbors," league officials said in the memo, "additional plantings on the east side of the property could benefit other surrounding properties."

The memorandum suggested that in return for more tree plantings, the league and the school district would like a longer permit for the lights.

"If a longer-term solution was granted to the DJFL, the organization would work with the Board of Education and school administration to explore the possibility of adding more trees to further enhance the natural screening along the high school fields’ boundaries," league officials said in their memo.

The proposal goes before the Planning and Zoning Commission on May 22. John Sini, chair of a league committee on lighting, said he's hoping to get the matter resolved by early June.


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