Tennis club, Ladera association come to terms on lights Tennis club, Ladera association come to terms on lights (December 01, 2004)

** Plans would put more light on courts, but not outside them.

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Mediation may have solved an impasse between Ladera residents in love with the night sky and a neighboring tennis club wanting to raise tennis court light levels for nighttime play.

Representatives of the Ladera Community Association and the Ladera Oaks Swim and Tennis Club agreed to allow the club to install advanced light bulbs, but not raise the wattage or the number of fixtures. A November 22 agreement states that the new bulbs will increase the light on the courts without allowing more of it to escape into the neighborhood.

The agreement may end an argument that began last spring, when the club went to the county Planning Commission with a proposal to add two light fixtures per court. The five-member commission turned it down on a 2-2 vote after an acrimonious public hearing in which neighbors argued in defense of the darkness they prefer. The club appealed the ruling.

"It had been quite adversarial," said club president Brian LaPorte.

"Things had pretty much stalled out," said Rob Decker, the community association president. "The (San Mateo County) Board of Supervisors highly recommended the mediation. We thought there was nothing to lose, so we went forward with it."

The 45-point agreement, worked out over 15 hours, appears to thread several needles at once by addressing the protection of the natural habitat, the concerns of neighbors whose homes overlook the courts, and the needs of a commercial recreational facility.

"It was a true compromise," said Mr. LaPorte. "Both sides walked away with some of what they wanted. More importantly, we established a way to talk."

The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the agreement on December 7.
Protecting nature

The Ladera Oaks club is located in the unincorporated town of Ladera in a narrow stretch of land between the environmentally sensitive Los Trancos Creek -- home to the threatened steelhead trout and California red-legged frogs -- and the scenic corridor of Alpine Road, much of which is unlit at night.

The club's No. 5 tennis court skirts the creek. The agreement requires a new fence at least 18 feet high to be added to protect the creek from errant tennis balls. Shields are required on all the new lights to prevent glare seeping into the darkness of the creek and the road.
Protecting neighbors

Across Alpine Road and up the hill are homes that look down on the courts. The agreement states that while the existing bulbs illuminate each court surface with an average of 23 foot candles, the new lights will boost the average to 60. Some surface light is reflected back into the night sky.

Among the agreement's conditions is a prohibition of "more light spill or glare beyond the tennis court fences than the lighting system they replace." This language refers to unreflected light, said Mr. LaPorte.

To help address the problem of reflected light, the club repainted the courts with a darker shade of green that reduces reflectivity by 20 percent, according to Jim Benya, an Oregon-based lighting consultant hired by the club.

The increase in surface light is "more than fully mitigated by the decrease in the reflectivity of the paint," Mr. Benya told the Almanac. Asked about other effects, he said the darker paint will raise the courts' surface temperature during the summer.
More regulations

Other restrictions in the mediated agreement include:

** Court lights on no earlier than 7 a.m. on weekdays, and 8 a.m. on weekends and holidays; lights out by 9 p.m., with several exceptions allowing a 10 p.m. shutoff.

** No expansion of spectator seating.

** Annually, no more than 80 16-player matches between two clubs, and no more than three tournaments. Seventy-five percent of tournament players must be Ladera Oaks members.

** Parties, dances and the like must end by midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 10 p.m. on other days. Two events, including New Year's Eve, can be extended to 1 a.m. When amplified music is present, ballroom doors must close by 10 p.m., or 9 p.m. if louder than 70 decibels.

** Swim meets will be limited to five per year. Starting guns are prohibited and public address speakers must be directed away from Alpine Road.

A separate memo acknowledges plans for some 2,748 square feet in expansion of club buildings.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.