When Brown installed several 90-foot-tall light posts in the Berylson Family Athletic Complex, College Hill residents were not happy. Neighbors of the fields, located behind the Olney-Margolies Athletic Complex, complained that the lights cast too much glare on surrounding houses and that the University had violated zoning restrictions by building the lights above the allowed heights in the residential neighborhood.
Neighbors will challenge the lights at a zoning hearing on May 13. The fields' planners believed the lights were installed legally under an electrical permit issued by Providence's Building Department last summer, said Michael Chapman, a University spokesman.
But when nighttime use of the fields began to increase last fall, Brown was cited by Providence's Zoning Board for constructing the lights without a building permit, though Chapman said the University thought the electrical permit was sufficient. The University was told that the city would not grant it a building permit after the fact because the poles exceed the maximum height for buildings in the area, he said.
Barbara Harris, a College Hill resident and lawyer, will represent the neighbors at a hearing in front of the Zoning Board on May 13, though the date has not yet been officially posted. She said she felt Brown didn't need to be informed that the lights were not in compliance with zoning laws.
The neighborhood feels "like Gillette Stadium," she said, adding that the offending structures are a form of "light trespass," which detracts from the peace of the neighborhood.
Professor of Economics Allan Feldman, who lives within 200 feet of Berylson Fields, is among those challenging the lights. He also likened the fields to a professional sports facility, but said Fenway Park is only used 50 to 60 days a year, as opposed to the 200 nights that the lights at Berylson will probably be on.
In the past, the fields were lit by much shorter lamps, he said, and were shielded by trees that border the area. But when the fields were reconfigured last summer, their use, as well as the height of the light posts, increased dramatically, he said.
Feldman, who wrote a column in The Herald ("The Carbon Footprint of the Berylson Family Athletic Complex," Apr. 7) about the lights, said they aren't just a nuisance, but also an environmental waste. When he walks his dog past the fields, he often notices that an area the size of two football fields is lit when only a dozen people are using it, he said.
All the lights are controlled by one switch, he added, which means that both fields must be lit even if only one of them is being used.
According to his column, in one year, the use of these lights releases about 60 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, roughly the same amount as driving a Hummer H2 around the world twice would.
For Harris, the only acceptable solution to the problem is to remove the lights, she said.
Feldman, however, said he sees a few potential solutions that would make the situation tolerable, including lowering the height of the posts, shielding the lights better and changing the system so the fields can be lit independently from one another, he said.
Chapman said lowering the lamps' height may not get the residents the result they want. He said taller posts allow for the light to be more easily focused on the fields, and that shorter posts would diffuse more light into the neighborhood.
"We had the concerns of the neighbors in mind," Chapman said.
The field is currently used by the men's and women's lacrosse teams and the women's rugby teams, among others, for practices and games.
According to Jessica Colmenares '11, a member of the rugby team, the lights are "the perfect height." In comparison to other fields where she has practiced, the lights on Berylson Field do a better job of illuminating the whole area, she said.
As for now, Chapman said the lights will stay up until the Zoning Board hearing, where the University will petition to have the decision reversed.
If that fails, the University will apply for a variance to allow the taller light, he said.
