The stadium lighting, a subject of ongoing expensive litigation, has generated a plethora of myths from its architects. Here are the facts.
There was a community compromise, put forth by Laura Rosenthal herself, of 16 nights of temporary lights that would be erected from late September through Dec. 10. Then our City Council and school district spearheaded an expensive campaign to amend the LCP to allow for over 75 nights of lights. Prior to this amendment, there was a deed restriction that residents relied on that would never allow these lights.
When residents originally worked with the district in 1994 to create the high school, the district represented it would not have field lighting, as it was a major concern for the residents. The truth is that they have broken a promise to the neighborhood. This stadium can now be used for a total of 61 nights. The lights will be used the entire year from Sept. 1 to June 1 with only the crossbars coming down for the remaining three months. The surrounding community is asking for the poles and crossbars to be up only from September through December as was agreed in the original community compromise for Friday night lights.
The Coastal Commission never limited the lights to sporting events only. The city imposed that condition for this year only and it can be changed on June 12, 2013. An online venture is already formed between the district and an outside agency to generate revenue. As of now, the crossbars will be up for nine months and the poles for 365 days a year.
In the last settlement agreement there was a compromise reached between the district, the Shark Fund, the city, and the community. The next morning “members of the Shark Fund” said they would never agree to a compromise. The city attorney has ended all settlement discussions. Of course we must be reminded of the $500,000 of tax money that has already been spent on “soft costs,” and the tens of thousands of dollars that continue to be spent to litigate for the city council to honor its word!
Scott Greco