Ladera Oaks tennis club is denied new lights Ladera Oaks tennis club is denied new lights (March 31, 2004)

** Club may appeal despite staunch opposition from neighbors.

By David Boyce
Almanac Staff Writer

A Ladera tennis club may appeal a close vote by the county Planning Commission that rejected the club's plan to increase tennis court light levels for nighttime play, handing the club's darkness-loving neighbors at least a temporary victory.

In a 2-to-2 vote with one member absent, the five-member San Mateo County Planning Commission turned down a proposal by the Ladera Oaks Swim & Tennis Club to replace the 20-year-old light fixtures on the courts and increase the number of lights.

The club said changes were necessary to improve safety, to allow easier tracking of the ball, and to remain competitive in attracting members. The new fixtures would reduce stray light and would shut off automatically at 10 p.m. except during the winter, when lights-out would be 9 p.m.

But the club's residential neighbors opposed the plan, saying it would increase reflected light into the night sky and that the club was wrong to argue that nighttime conditions at Ladera -- part of the Alpine Road Scenic Corridor -- are similar to those of more urban courts in Los Gatos and on the Stanford campus.

"If this were an urbanized area, an area with street lights, ... I think I'd have no problem with it," said commission chair and former Portola Valley mayor Jon Silver, who voted against the proposal.

The club has 10 days to appeal the decision to the county Board of Supervisors. The club's board of directors will consider its options on Tuesday, March 30, said Tom Moore, the board's president. Advising the club is a lighting consultant from Southern California and John Ward, a former San Mateo County supervisor.

The debate

With the county Planning Commission set to rule on two controversial topics last week -- the Ladera Oaks application and a bed-and-breakfast ordinance -- about 90 people attended the morning meeting.

Complaining of late-night parties at the club and the annoying effects of nighttime lighting at nearby businesses, Rob Decker, president of the Ladera Community Association, said the cumulative impact degrades the quality of the night on streets where residents sometimes meet to stargaze.

"We're living in a scenic corridor," Mr. Decker said. "This is a place of natural beauty."

Many residents suggested that Ladera Oaks should discontinue nighttime tennis, arguing that Atherton -- the home of some club members -- does not allow it, nor does the Alpine Hills Tennis and Swimming Club up the road in Portola Valley.

The case for more effective lighting did not impress one resident of Balsamina Way, which looks down on Ladera Oaks. "Technology does march on, but it's not always a good thing," he said, adding that he plays nighttime tennis under ordinary lights and has never been injured.

Club members and staff were outnumbered, but tried to make their points. "I think that our society embraces improving technology," said the club's assistant tennis pro. A member from Atherton said he has fallen three times and has a hard time seeing the ball at night.

But Balsamina Way resident and tennis player Gavin Christensen was not persuaded. Getting hit by the ball at night is part of the game, he said. "Nighttime tennis is nighttime tennis. It's not great."

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