Lights Pitched At Hampton West Park Ballfield, And Neighbors Lead Off In Opposition

With descriptions of speeding cars running stop signs and clogging subdivision streets, spectators parking, and even urinating, on lawns, neighbors painted an unpleasant portrait of life around the busy Hampton West Park sports fields in Westhampton. Countering the picture were parents and youth sports officials in favor of adding lights to the Little League field to offer more opportunity for play into the night.

Both sides made their arguments to the Southampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals during its May 6 videoconference. Town Parks Director Kristen Doulos appeared before the regulators seeking relief from town zoning code provisions related to sports lighting on municipal facilities, specifically those focused on technical aspects of light fixtures.

Lighting engineer David Kulis offered an in-depth explanation of the proposed fixtures — there would be six of them, on 60-foot tall poles. Each pole would host a different array of luminaries and together they would light the ballfield, and the bullpen, with two of the six directed toward the adjacent soccer field. They would be remotely managed with an automatic shut-off time. The request is driven by Little League Baseball standards, Mr. Kulis said, standards conceived 30 years ago with an aim toward both continuity and ensuring fields are properly lit for youthful players.

And there are plenty.

William Dawson, president of East End Little League, told the board that there were over 300 children on 29 teams in the league, but available fields are very limited. He noted that for a youngsters, the chance to play “under the lights” is very special.

“The usage at the park is for the right reasons,” Gregory Fink, director of Southampton Town United Soccer Club said, emphasizing the wholesome aspects of youth sports. “We’re promoting good activities for the kids,” he said. His group has paid between $7,000 and $8,000 to rent lights during the fall when the sun sets early to allow play and practice until 8 p.m. and he has personally supervised putting out orange cones to keep visitors from parking on neighbors’ grass. He theorized that if there were lights at the field, “We could stretch out the time and actually have less cars there per slot. ”

Sharon Frost can see the baseball players from her kitchen window. The park is “overbooked,” she said, with scant parking resulting in users parking on her lawn. There’s no facilities except a portable toilet. “It’s disgusting, it smells,” she said. Last year, she caught a child urinating on her grass, the neighbor reported. Asked by ZBA Chairman Adam Grossman if she wants the board to deny the request, she replied, “Absolutely. I think it’s unfair to my community. It’s disrespectful to my community.”

Vanessa Jones is another neighbor whose property borders the park. She worried, “What’s it going to do to our neighborhood?”

“The toilet is in my backyard,” she informed, adding that some users find it too disagreeable to use and instead, “They urinate on my fence.” With her opinion echoed by others, she said the town needs to address problems at the field before adding lights.

Julie Delafuente said she uses the park and can’t deny it’s good for children. But she opposes the notion of increasing the number of games and associated traffic when the facility is so neglected. She offered as evidence “garbage strewn all over” due to a dearth of cans.

Forest Markowitz is president of the Hampton West Estates Residents Association. Adding his voice to those in opposition to the proposal, he complained about the town’s public notification of the meeting and application. Members of his association learned of it because there was a sign posted at the field “about some kind of meeting.” In an earlier letter to The Press, he wrote, “We are thrilled to see the facility used, we are thrilled to see the area’s youth playing baseball and soccer. We are not thrilled by the traffic and parking issues this brings. The facility is overused as it is now. “

Dave Celi, a co-cordinator for Little League Softball, said complaints about the busy park’s impact on neighbors’ quality of life, “that doesn’t jibe with me when you’re talking about kids.” Identifying himself as an avid sports lover and an avid kid lover, he declared, “You don’t build a park so people don’t go into it … people purchase next to things they complain about.” He loves to hear kids screaming and yelling and “getting jubilant about something.” He, too, feels that having the added time the lights would provide could mean less crowding, with users spread out over a longer time frame.

Either way, “The park should be filled to the brim with kids at every minute of every day,” he said.

What about adults?

Appearing together before the board, Sandy Oliveto and Patricia Newman asked whether there would be adult leagues permitted on the soccer field.

“Are teams coming in from the outside?” Ms. Oliveto queried. A 44-year resident of the subdivision, she said, “It’s been getting worse and worse.” Address the problem with parking and bathrooms before adding lights, she said. “You need to fix these other things first.”

Adult soccer leagues introduce alcohol into the equation, Ms. Newman noted.

“We had a lot of immigrant groups there that ruined your lawn,” Ms. Oliveto told Ms. Doulos. “Are they going to be coming back?” The town receives requests for the use of the field and priority has been given to nonprofit youth leagues, but, said Ms. Doulos, “I can’t guarantee adult leagues wouldn’t be allowed on.”

“It’s good that we’re having this conversation,” Mr. Grossman said. “And I appreciate the fact that all of you who are adjacent property owners have come to bring issues of concern to you to our attention. We certainly want to know all of that, even if the application is only about proposed lighting.”

“These groups have been requesting lights for a few years now,” Ms. Doulos pointed out. Lights were included in the town’s capital budget. “I definitely hear the neighbors’ concerns,” the parks director continued, reporting that in the past she reached out with a plan to increase parking and “They weren’t in favor of that plan.” Officials are revisiting the expanded parking plan and it has “definitely” been her recommendation to have a restroom installed at the site.

Located on Stewart Avenue in Westhampton, the 18-acre park was established during the 1970s, according to Ms. Doulos. It featured tennis, basketball and handball courts. In 1986, the town acquired it and installed a ball field and soccer field soon after. Recent improvements include the installation of a turf ball field and resurfacing the courts.