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Regular Planning Commission Meeting <br />Minutes – Wednesday, March 5, 2014 <br />Page 10 <br />the dorms and back to the residential area. Ms. Cooke opined that sometimes she <br />461 <br />thought they heard things better at home than within the stadium itself. <br />462 <br />Regarding the lights, Ms. Cooke recognized that you needed to be able to see in order to <br />463 <br />play games; however, she expressed concern about the height of the lights. With the <br />464 <br />location of their property on the other side of the lake and Northwestern higher than those <br />465 <br />properties, with 80’ light poles, Ms. Cooke opined that it would be putting it so high the <br />466 <br />residences would be looking at the underside of the lights. On one of the charts, Ms. <br />467 <br />Cooke noted that it seemed to be a significant number of lights, and even if they were not <br />468 <br />on all the time, it still sent up a flag for me. Since there are currently no lights, Ms. Cooke <br />469 <br />stated that it wasn’t a problem, but once installed, they’ll be in use, and therefore, <br />470 <br />decisions on future use could not be based on current use, since there isn’t any current <br />471 <br />use. Ms. Cooke opined that, if the lights were installed, it only made sense for them to <br />472 <br />use them. <br />473 <br />Ms. Cooke referenced the staff report, and indications that a majority of the trees would <br />474 <br />remain and be used for screening. However, Ms. Cooke observed that there were no 80’ <br />475 <br />trees out there; and as shown by the lake, there was a steep slope to the lake, creating a <br />476 <br />hollow, and those trees wouldn’t do any screening of the lights, as they would below the <br />477 <br />light source. <br />478 <br />Mr. Cooke <br />479 <br />Mr. Cooke questioned if it was possible to light the field with 60’ lights that would be in <br />480 <br />compliance with City Code. Mr. Cooke opined that it seemed if there were two available <br />481 <br />options, and one was in compliance with code and one requiring an exception, it seemed <br />482 <br />prudent to pursue code compliance without exception. Mr. Cooke suggested it may be <br />483 <br />possible, with the help of lighting engineers, as done at the St. Thomas field. <br />484 <br />Mr. Paschke clarified that, since the Conditional Use was for lighting ballfields, there were <br />485 <br />no City Code standards other than conditions placed on it, with the design provided by <br />486 <br />Musco the lowest limit to get appropriate lighting for existing fields – soccer, football, and <br />487 <br />baseball – with rationale for providing sufficient lighting, as players wanted daylight-like <br />488 <br />conditions for playing. Mr. Paschke noted that this request was no different than other <br />489 <br />schools with ballfields, and that the system incorporated here was state of the art, and <br />490 <br />different from those at the High School by being directed directly down on the field to <br />491 <br />mitigate their impact. Mr. Paschke advised that he did not have the light engineering <br />492 <br />expertise to advise if the college could provide the same lighting with shorter poles. Mr. <br />493 <br />Paschke advised that he had been told by Musco that this was the most efficient and <br />494 <br />economical way to light the fields. <br />495 <br />Member Boguszewski opined that the college representatives seemed to understand that <br />496 <br />the lighting plan needed to be adhered to; and as a citizen when he looked at a street <br />497 <br />light, he was personally not aware of the candle strength, or whether it was higher or <br />498 <br />lower or what difference that might make, since to him it appeared to have the same <br />499 <br />amount of intensity. Member Boguszewski opined that the school understood their <br />500 <br />mandate to meet those maximums; and if they did not do so, asked staff the <br />501 <br />repercussions to them from the City’s enforcement perspective if residents felt the light <br />502 <br />was exceeding those limits. Member Boguszewski asked how citizens could call the <br />503 <br />City’s attention to that and what resources were available to ensure the college was in <br />504 <br />compliance, or in the extreme case, the City needed to withdraw their Conditional Use. <br />505 <br />Mr. Paschke responded that the City’s action would be to call for another lighting study to <br />506 <br />make sure they were operating as approved with this improvement; and if they were <br />507 <br />found to be out of compliance, they would be required to bring it back into compliance. If <br />508 <br />there remained ongoing problems with the lighting with the intensity and/or spill effect <br />509 <br />remained a problem, Mr. Paschke advised that the City could look to rescind the use or <br />510 <br />consider placing more enforceable conditions on the installed lighting system. <br />511 <br />Member Boguszewski clarified, with Mr. Paschke responding affirmatively, that there was <br />512 <br />a way at some point for a resident to proceed if they felt the mandates were being <br />513 <br /> <br />