NOW THAT YOU KNOW HOW HUGE THIS PROPOSED SPORTS COMPLEX IS PLANNED TO BE AND HOW FAR REACHING ITS LIGHTS WILL SHINE, IT IS TIME TO LEARN MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SPORTS FIELD LIGHTING….

SPORTS LIGHTING 101
Question: What determines the design of a sports field/stadium lighting?

Answer: Criteria, which determine the design of a sports field, include type of sports field, class of play, level and age of players (adult vs. youth), spectator capacity, orientation and topography, location, field size and width of sideline, and sufficient controls to satisfy contingencies. All of these factors and more contribute to the design.

Question: What determines the height of a light pole?

Answer: Location of the poles in relation to the field determines the height. For adequate illumination of soccer and baseball fields, they are typically 60-70 or more feet tall. However, field size, light level required, fixture type all play a role in determining the height of a light pole.

Question: What determines the number of light poles on any given field?

Answer: Depends on the size of the field. According to one local sports lighting company, there are typically 4 poles on a high school football or soccer field, 6 poles on a high school baseball field, and 4 poles on a little league level field.

Question: How many light fixtures are there on a single pole?

Answer: According to WHLL president-elect Chris Ellis, the lights at the Westlake High School practice fields will be indicative of the lights on the sports fields over on River Hills Road. At the High School, the Football Field has 7 poles with 12-15 light fixtures, the Baseball Field has 6 poles with 6-18 light fixtures, and the Multi- Sport Practice Field has 6 poles with 10-20 light fixtures.

Question: What determines the wattage or brightness?

Answer: Most commonly, sports light fixtures use 1500 watt metal halide bright white bulbs. Each light pole will generally contain from 3 to 16 fixtures depending on the application. The brightness will be a function of the lumens from each fixture, the number of fixtures and the observer’s distance from the fixtures. For example, many in the area currently can see the Lake Travis football stadium lights from time to time. The brightness is the inverse square of the distance from the lighting. So, to observers in Rob Roy, the same lights on the River Hills site, which is about 1 mile away, would appear 49 times brighter than those at Lake Travis, 8 miles away ((8-1) squared).

Question: Why is field lighting so problematic on this site?

Answer: The River Hills site is very unique in that it is located on two hilltops with over 200 feet of steep slopes around it. This hilltop elevation creates a lighthouse effect, resulting in bright lights and amplified sound traveling unobstructed in all directions. WNA estimates the area of potential impact to be approximately 20 square miles.

Question: Can the negative impact of field lighting be mitigated by using the “latest technology”?

Answer: Sport lighting today uses shields connected to the light fixture that can reduce “glare” that comes from looking straight into a light. It also allows the lighting fixture to direct and concentrate the light towards the field. However, the light is the brightest and most concentrated at the source, which in this case is near the top of each light pole. This light, once it exits the fixture, will be plainly visible, very bright and completely unobstructed.

Question: There are several sports fields in the area that have field lighting. What is different about them?

Answer: There are not many lighted sports fields in the Westlake area for good reasons. Sports Complex lighting can have a significant negative impact to area neighborhoods. Other sports complexes generally have a significant buffer to residential areas, are adjoining commercial areas, are not used 365 days a year, do not have 8 lighted fields clustered together, and are not located on a hilltop where the impact of bright lights and amplified sound is unobstructed.

Question: What should we look for when lights are going in?

Answer: According to the same sports lighting company, the lights go in very quickly. One day you see a flag on the ground, the next they are in.

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!

We have asked for WHLL’s Lighting Plan for over two years now and have gotten nothing from them. We believe they know the impact will be huge, and therefore, they are reluctant to provide the area neighborhoods with any plans. We know how quickly they can put the lights in, so the time to act is now.

EMAIL YOUR OPPOSITION TO THIS NOW!

The following are the elected officials who will be responsible for approving the permit for the site plan and allowing, ultimately, a virtual lighthouse on a hilltop on River Hills Road:

TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT

County Judge
Samuel T. Biscoe – sam.biscoe@co.travis.tx.us

Commissioners
Precinct One, Ron Davis – ron.davis@co.travis.tx.us

Precinct Two, Bruce Todd – Phone: (512) 854-9222
Mr Todd’s Executive Assistants:
Loretta Farb – loretta.farb@co.travis.tx.us
Peter Einhorn – peter.einhorn@co.travis.tx.us
Joe Hon – joe.hon@co.travis.tx.us

Precinct Three, Gerald Daugherty – gerald.daugherty@co.travis.tx.us

Precinct Four, Margaret Gomez – margaret.gomez@co.travis.tx.us

SUPERINTENDENT OF EANES ISD
Dr. Nola Wellman – supt@eanesisd.net

EANES ISD 2013 SCHOOL BOARD
Dr James “Kal” Kallison, President at kkallison@eanesisd.net

Rob Hargett, Vice President at rhargett@eanesisd.net

Dr. Colleen Jones, Secretary at colleenjones@eanesisd.net

Ronna Martin at rmartin@eanesisd.net

Beau Ross at bross@eanesisd.net

Mike Frost at mfrost@eanesisd.net Ellen Balthazar at ebalthazar@eanesisd.net

Refer to The Case Number for the Filing of Application for Administrative Approval of A Site Plan SP-2013-0069D in your email.

EMAIL YOUR OPPOSITION UNTIL THEY CHOOSE A BETTER SITE!

THEY HAVE ALTERNATIVES. THEY ARE CHOOSING TO IGNORE THEM.