By John Schwing

WESTPORT — Let there be lights …

… More for the town’s athletic facilities, but not so much for non-residential properties.

That was the thrust of a discussion this week by zoning officials about the bright and dark sides of the latest lighting technology, a first step toward exploring changes to zoning regulations that, if adopted, could:

• Facilitate installation of more lighting around school and town playing fields, with a goal of expanding the facilities’ usage for games and practice time by school and youth groups.

• Inspired by the “Dark Sky” movement, impose stricter standards to limit light pollution emanating from non-residential properties in town.

The discussion took place Wednesday as the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Zoning Regulation/Sustainability Subcommittee considers drafting text amendments on the two lighting-related issues. No action was taken, but the group plans to gather information for further brainstorming that might lead to formal proposals in the future.

Lighting sparks high-voltage debates

The issue of lighting — for both athletic and commercial properties — has triggered controversy in Westport over the years.

Most notable was the saga over installing permanent lighting at Staples High School’s stadium, plans that ignited a struggle between town officials and neighbors that, by some accounts, began back in the 1970s.

The controversy, however, became incandescent in 2009 when neighbors filed a lawsuit challenging a P&Z decision to allow permanent lighting at the Staples field. The litigation raged until three years later when the P&Z signed off on a court-stipulated judgment, allowing stadium lights to be installed, but restricting the number of nighttime games/events and the time when the lights had to be switched off.

Lighting at non-residential properties, particularly commercial complexes, also has periodically prompted complaints.

Neighbors, for instance, recently objected to light pollution they anticipated would be caused by an illuminated sign for an “Amazon Fresh” supermarket the online retailing behemoth proposed for the Post Plaza shopping center. But after the sign was redesigned several times last year to win town officials’ approval, it actually may never be switched on. The local project, along with the entire Amazon Fresh brand, appears to be in limbo while it is re-assessed by the parent company.

Technology could be a game-changer

But recent advances in lighting technology, subcommittee members noted, should help address concerns about light pollution spilling from both athletic facilities and non-residential properties.

Danielle Dobin, the P&Z chairwoman, acknowledged the stipulated settlement of the Staples lights dispute has had “an inadvertent impact frequently on opportunities for sports that aren’t necessarily viewed as, like, the big stadium sports having the same access to fields …,” an apparent reference to football. As a result, nighttime openings for girls teams to play tend to be more limited, she indicated.

The commission, she said, wants to explore “streamlining the process for potentially adding lights” at school fields in the future. Deliberations on setting up the framework would include factors such as the types of lighting that could be installed and the days and hours it could be used. 

With a nod to past clashes with Staples’ neighbors, Dobin added that an important step would be to “meet with and bring the neighbors into the conversation” about any plans to write a new text amendment. She specifically cited contacting residents of Woody Lane and High Point Road, who could help spread the word about the subcommittee’s work.

Planning and Zoning Director Mary Young, recalling how “divisive” the 2009 controversy over Staples lighting was, observed that since the regulations were adopted “the sky did fall” and there has been a “learning curve” on how to plan more cooperatively with neighbors. 

Given that experience, she suggested, the time is “overdue to revisit these lighting regulations to bring them into the 21st Century.”

There have been “a lot of really wonderful changes with regard to how lights are designed,” Dobin said, and called on fellow P&Z member Michael Cammeyer to recount a recent visit to an athletic field at West Rocks Middle School in Norwalk.

Cammeyer, whose children play sports, accompanied a Westport team to practice, under lights, at the Norwalk field since no field time was available in their hometown. He said he was “amazed” to find the West Rocks field’s LED lighting did not “spill” into the parking lot, only two feet from the field — offering a possible solution to neighbor complaints about light pollution.

Board of Education Chairwoman Lee Goldstein thanked the subcommittee for addressing the issue, saying it is “really important” to expand playing opportunities, particularly for girls teams.

Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Fava called the demands for field time in Westport “incredibly high,” estimating as many as 7,000 children participate in various athletic groups. And during the fall sports season, when it gets dark by 5 p.m., playing opportunities are even more sharply constrained.

She agreed with Cammeyer that new lighting technology has advanced to the point where “right at the edge of a field the light ends.”

Fava also suggested using temporary lights for fields where permanent lighting is not installed.

A cautionary note was raised by Matthew Mandell, the chairman of the Representative Town Meeting’s Planning and Zoning Committee.

A critical “question from the perspective of neighbors,” he said, “is having lights going to change the use of the field in terms of competitions and people coming and making more noise?”

The issue is not just the lighting, Mandell said, “but how many people are going to be there and the noise coming from them.”

The “noise level,” he added, should be an important issue in the subcommittee’s planning to expand field use, which Dobin called a great point.

Lighting expert Leo Smith told the meeting that less intense lighting is needed for team practices than games, since the brighter lights are used only so that spectators can see the action from the sidelines.

“Dark Sky” initiative: A bright idea?

A text amendment patterned after Dark Sky guidelines, which are designed to limit light pollution, glare and “skyglow,” would apply only to non-residential properties — at least for now.

Michelle Perillie, the deputy planning and zoning director, told the meeting it would be easier to start with bringing non-residential properties into compliance with Dark Sky standards, rather than including the much larger number of residential properties in town. P&Z Director Young agreed the P&Z staff lacks the resources and manpower to take on lighting compliance for all properties in town.

But P&Z member Neil Cohn and the RTM’s Mandell both suggested the group should consider applying some of the standards to residential properties as well.

Cohn said a firm set of standards for all properties could be easier to enforce, and noted that bright residential lighting can be disruptive to the lifestyle of neighbors.

Mandell said that even if residential lighting were not formally regulated, the town should have an explanatory program about the preferred standards for residential lighting.

Consideration needs to be given to “the quality of the light and how it spreads” in a neighborhood, he said. 

Town and state facilities also should comply with any new lighting standards, Mandell added, although Dobin noted the state is not obligated to follow any local regulations.

Young also said that she believes that new, more stringent standards designed to curb light pollution would “proactively” apply only to new non-residential projects, and would not apply “retroactively” to those previously approved.

But Smith, the lighting expert, said that all commercial lighting has to be fully shielded in conformance with the state’s building code dating to 2004.

Smith also said that LED manufacturers, in recent years, have reduced the brightness and glare in many products, which he termed more than sufficient for any commercial lighting needs.

P&Z planner Amanda Trianovich told the meeting that Dark Sky standards are “important when it comes to sustainability, “especially when there’s commercial properties abutting residential properties.” 

Also joining the meeting were several members of Sustainable Westport, who endorsed the subcommittee’s Dark Sky initiative.

John Schwing, the Westport Journal consulting editor, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.