By Kerri Williams
WESTPORT – The Planning and Zoning Commission heard from many more residents on Monday about a proposal to add lighting to two town athletic fields. The commission continued the public hearing to June 15 as town officials work to respond to resident concerns.
While the commission has received more than 100 emails in support of the proposal to add permanent lights to PJ Romano field on Riverside Avenue and Wakeman B field on North Avenue, many of the people who spoke out Monday expressed reservations.
Concerns raised included the impact on neighbors and wildlife and even on families with children’s events scheduled later into the night. The plan was submitted by Erik Barbieri, director of Parks and Recreation for the town.
Proponents say the lights, which would include LED fixtures attached to 70-foot poles, are necessary to increase youth playing time in a town where athletics is important and field access is a big issue. Responding to a question from P&Z Chairman Paul Lebowitz, Barbieri said “hundreds more kids” would be able to play sports if the lights were approved.
But several people who spoke out during the public comment session said that they doubted that number was accurate. Resident Toni Simonetti said she thinks town children have remarkable access to all kinds of leisure activities, especially sports. “It doesn’t seem to me that there are hundreds of kids not able to do anything,” she said.
Two students who spoke out at the meeting said the lighting would allow for more playing time for girls’ sports, which they said is currently not equitable. Loewe Epstein, a Staples boys’ soccer player, added that members of his team currently miss up to three hours of school on a given day because games need to be scheduled before the sun goes down. He said players are missing tests and important information.
While members of the public praised the teens for speaking out, they also questioned whether later playing time is the answer.
“I take umbrage that we need lights to create equal access (to fields),” Simonetti said. “That should be a given. Shame on us.”
She went on to say that she is “outraged” to learn that students are missing tests to play sports. “Academics should come first,” she said. “The adults in the room should make that happen.”
Another resident said parents have voiced concerns to her about the lights who are afraid to come forward because they don’t want to be stigmatized. Some of these parents have said that their children are overscheduled and never have time for a family dinner, said Valerie Seiling Jacobs.
But Heather Talbott, who is involved in coaching in town, said she was “a little put off” by the negative comments. “We are looking for a little more time for kids to play sports,” she said. Others added that many parent coaches cannot get to the fields until later because of work schedules, with the prime time for needing fields occurring between 6 and 9 p.m.
The proposals for lighting these fields came after the P&Z adopted Text Amendment 850 in February 2025, which amended the zoning regulations to permit permanent lighted athletic fields on town-owned, public-school property. Currently, the town has three lit athletic fields – permanent lights at the Greens Farms Elementary School softball field and at Staples Stadium and temporary lighting at PJ Romano Field.
The Planning and Zoning Department has stated that the current proposals appear to comply with town zoning regulations, including setbacks, pole height, and lighting design.
Another resident speaking on Monday questioned why students are not using Loeffler Field, located at Staples High School, a grass field which town officials have said needs work. “Why don’t we refurbish this field instead of adding lights?” questioned Julianne Mulvey. “I have never gotten an answer.” She said the field was once the “crown jewel of the soccer program” and is now “just sitting.”
Others brought up concerns about migratory birds being affected by the lighting, which will primarily be used during migration season. Many wildlife associations are concerned about increased lighting disturbing them, Jacobs said.
Another speaker, who is a coach in town, said she is as concerned about the neighbors living next to the lights as she is about student playing time. “There are limits,” said Janine Scotti. “We are not doing families any favors (by having play time go later into the night).”
Those in favor of the lights point out that design measures are built in to minimize impacts on surrounding properties, including down-directed LED fixtures. According to P&Z department comments, the lighting will improve visibility for athletic activities, thereby enhancing safety.For Emma Cusato, another issue is that she feels the lights currently on town fields are not being properly managed by Parks & Rec. The lights are currently on a timer, and she has noticed that they are sometimes left on even if the field is not in use. “There is no process to adapt lighting to actual field usage,” she said.
Kerri Williams
Kerri Williams is an award-winning writer and journalist. She has worked as a reporter at the Norwalk Hour, as Living editor at the Darien News-Review, and managing editor for the Norwalk Citizen-News. For Westport Journal, she is a reporter as well as a gardening columnist, writing “Cultivating with Kerri.” She recently published her first children’s book – “Mabel’s Big Move,” based on her daughter with special needs.
While we should all continue to embrace this sort of open debate on critical town issues to ensure all voices, especially those of the neighbors most directly impacted, are heard and concerns are addressed, it is patently absurd that we allow voices that are so ill-informed to get so much airtime or carry any weight.
That somebody would both scoff confidently at the suggestion that field access is an issue AND express shock that students are missing school because of the limitations on field availability should disqualify them from any future comment on the topic.
The reality is as follows: every fall Staples fields two very successful soccer teams and an insanely successful field hockey team. As a result of their respective successes, they are regularly rewarded with the opportunity to host home playoff games. At present the only source of illumination at the fields on which those teams play is the giant glowing orb in the sky, and due to Earth’s orbital path and the 23.5 degree tilt on which it rotates – factors still very much outside of our control – the hours during which that is available are increasingly limited during the time of the year when these games occur. Therefore, they need to start early enough to ensure the games can be completed.
Using soccer as an example, for a high school game one needs to account for 80 minutes of regular time, 10 minutes of halftime, 10 minutes of overtime, and call it another 15 for penalties. Thats already two hours, without accounting for stoppages, injuries, etc. On their march to the state championship last fall, the boys team hosted home matches for the first three rounds of states on 10/31, 11/3 and 11/6, all school days.
According to SunToday.org (why not), the sun set in Westport on November 6th at 4:44pm; working backward to account for the time needed, kick-off was set for 2pm, smack in the middle of the school day. But, that’s when the game *started*; that doesn’t account for changing, pre-match injury treatment, team meetings and warm-ups, which all added up means players could be leaving classes as early as 12pm. And that’s for the home team; obviously the team traveling to Westport will have to end their academic day even earlier.
It also means unlike at schools with proper, modern facilities where players can count on their parents and friends being there to cheer them on, Staples teams regularly start the most important games of their seasons in front of mostly empty seats (and now they can’t even count on a few dogs to show up because they’re not allowed at Wakeman until after school ends!)
This is all commonly known or can be deduced by anybody that is motivated by anything other than knee-jerk opposition.to, seemingly, everything. If the critique is on the prominence or place of sports in our society, that’s a different debate, though we’re not exactly talking about recent developments there.
But to express “outrage” over the choices our administrators are forced to make to account for very real limitations? Take that weak sauce somewhere else. As for “the adults in the room “ they are trying to “make that happen”. For a change, let’s let them.
Communities fail to realize when the vast majority of schools and athletic fields were constructed decades ago, girls did not participate in any athletic events.
Today, girls participate in as many, if not more sports, which is a wonderful evolution.
The problem is, we have never responded by doubling the amount of Town playing fields.
Therefore, it seems logical, to allow the existing fields to be used after dark.
This solution appears more practical, cost effective and probably, politically more appealing rather than identifying what little remaining available vacant land (such as Winslow Park, for example) and converting a portion of it into athletic fields.
By the way, it is nobody’s business to determine whether or not a child is over programed other than the child’s parents.
Furthermore, why Albie Loeffler Field, once the crown jewel of the soccer program, with its amazing viewing stands designed into the hill, if I may say so myself 😉 is no longer used, is a crime !
I do agree this field should be restored and used as the girls and boys varsity team’s home field but I also think the other fields should be lighted.
The fact that we have so many children participating in sports is a wonderful thing that should be encouraged and embraced.
P&Z, please approve lighting the fields and then move onto other Town issues.
~ Joseph Vallone, A.I.A.