Kennett High School seeks to add lighting to its stadium but neighbors appeal the Borough’s decision to allow the installation.
By P.J. D’Annunzio, Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com
There won't be night football at Kennett High School this year after all. After students and volunteers raised more than $75,000 to add lights to the school's football field, neighbors appealed a decision by Kennett Square's Zoning Hearing Board, leaving the project in limbo.
KENNETT SQUARE — Kennett High School athletic teams will be playing under natural light for an indefinite period due to an appeal of a Kennett Square Borough zoning code variance filed by School House Lane residents Kathy Hahn and Ross and Ann Causey.
“At this time I believe the project is over for this year,” Kennett Consolidated School District Superintendent Barry Tomasetti said.
According to Tomasetti, the granting of the variance by the Zoning Hearing Board, that allows an exception to the code which mandates that no lighting structures should be greater than 30 ft. high (the proposed models measuring 70 ft. in height), was met with acceptance by the public.
“The first thing that we did in February is we sent out an invitation to all those neighbors who are contiguous with the school district property,” Tomasetti said, “In March of 2010, we had a meeting…one of the conditions of the variance was that we meet with the neighbors…there was no dissatisfaction expressed in that meeting and we left thinking everything was going to be fine.”
Eventually, however, dissatisfaction with the project became apparent in early June 2011 as Hahns and the Causeys filed an appeal to the variance for lights in the stadium that sits, literally, in their front yard.
One of the lights that was slated for installtion at Kennett High School — but is now on hold awaiting a hearing in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas/
“We felt that the Zoning hearing board decision was made in error,” Ann Causey said, “We want time to slow the process down to let everybody see if there were other options that might be more amenable to the town and to other parties involved.”
Causey insists that the lights would negatively affect the nature of Kennett Square’s small town charm.
“I believe that the lights towering over the town 365 days a year, whether they’re on or off, are really going to change the character of [the town],” she said, “You’re going to be able to see them virtually from anywhere in the borough. I believe that it will really alter the feel, the character of the town…it’s really going to change the skyline of Kennett and it’s going to light pollute everything in the area.”
The issue, however, cuts both ways. Tomasetti stated that the lack of lighting can be linked to decreased performance in KHS athletic teams.
“Very few of our kids are on the all-area teams,” he said. “I think one of the reasons that could be is because we don’t practice enough. You know, in the fall the days get shorter so what happens is we don’t have enough fields and we have to share with boys and girls sports teams. So we don’t have enough time and certainly not enough money to construct another field. Another hardship is that we suffer is that many of our games are at times when parents can’t attend them. Parents can’t attend their child’s games because they’re still working.”
“This is a quality of life issue,” Ross Causey said, “imagine four cell towers almost anywhere in the borough in Kennett, that’s our concern plain and simple. The lighting is one issue but the structure is very similar to a cell tower.”
It is uncertain whether a compromise can be reached between the district and the residents anytime soon, however, both parties have expressed a willingness to continue the exchange of dialogue in the matter.
“We want teams and sports to have their time on the fields,” Ross Causey said, “We’d like to see all the sports activities. There’s nothing better than hearing the crack of the bat, nothing better than hearing the band playing.”
As the Court of Common Pleas—the body that is handling the appeal—has yet to set a date for the hearing, the wait for the ruling could potentially extend for months on end. In the meantime, Tomasetti said he remains optimistic about the future of Kennett athletics.
“We’re not going to sit here and cry,” he said, “we’re disappointed but we still have a lot of things to look forward to. We have a great school district. We have good athletic teams, so we’re not going to sit and sulk over this thing. We’re going to move on, we have an opportunity for a court date…we’re not going to let it concern us but we’re going to take advantage of going to the hearing.
