Neighbors want to turn off plans to install stadium lights at Sandy Springs private school

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Neighbors in Sandy Springs are fighting a private school’s plans to install stadium lights around its football field. The Mount Vernon School plans to put in four light towers standing 70 feet high.

The football field sits yards away from some homes in the Mount Vernon Woods subdivision, where Ree Howard serves as vice president of the community association.

“We’ve always liked the school, we were glad a school was going there, but as a board, we have to protect the whole neighborhood,” she said.

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When the school was built, it signed a 20-year agreement with the community to avoid adding stadium lights on its athletic fields. But that agreement expires early next year. The school is now applying for a conditional use permit from the city of Sandy Springs to install the lighting.

An attorney for the school told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims that the towers would feature LED lights pointed at the field to prevent light pollution.

“But it’s still gonna be lights and noise, in someone’s backyard, shining in their bedroom until 10:30 at night,” Howard said.

In a written statement, the head of school, Kristy Lundstrum, said the lights are needed as more students want to play sports. Right now, the school’s athletic fields have no lighting and sporting events take place during daylight hours.

She said the school has partnered with Musco Sports Lighting, “an industry leader in environmental light control.”

“The School is committing to not just adhere to but exceed the City of Sandy Springs light usage requirements by partnering with DarkSky International and using technology that will reduce the light trespass, glare, and environmental disruption beyond the minimum requirements,” she said.

Her statement goes on to say “we have been in dialogue with our neighbors and are exploring measures to limit the impact on our neighbors in relation to lights.”

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A community meeting originally set for April 15 has been postponed to allow the school more time to work with neighbors to find a solution, she said.

“Everybody who moved in here came with the expectations that there would be no stadium lights,” said Craig Johns, who lives in the Aria West subdivision. He’s skeptical about claims that the LED lights would not disturb the neighborhood. “If the lights are at 70 feet, and the top of your house and bedroom window is at 30 feet or 40 feet, you’re still looking up into these big lights, he said.

Chris Weissman, who also lives in Aria West, said it’s not just the glare of stadium lights, it’s the noise from games played at night.

“For me, it’s the combination of the lights and the sound. You don’t have lights and run sporting events without any sound system – it just doesn’t happen,” he said.

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