Keep fields dark, some critics say

Vera Terrell does not have to look very far to see the fields, soccer goals and fences of Darden Towe Memorial Park.

And when she thought about the softball-field lighting that may come to the 110-acre park just outside her front door, she stated her feelings bluntly.

“We don’t want them,” said Terrell, who has lived in her Elk Drive home for four years.

As a result of the 70,000-square-foot YMCA coming to McIntire Park — which will eliminate its two softball fields to allow for additional parking and a rectangular field — new lighting is being proposed for Charlottesville High School’s one and Darden Towe’s three softball fields.

“It is a concern with the fields going away at McIntire,” said Albemarle resident Larry Stremikis, whose senior softball team, the Charlottesville Retreads, plays at Darden Towe on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. “What happens to the people who want to play softball?”

But some nearby residents are fuming that local officials are considering adding lights to a park they believe was never meant to have them. Clara Belle

Wheeler, who owns a 78-acre farm on Stony Point Road, said McIntire’s fields should remain so Darden Towe is left alone.

“The money’s been spent,” Wheeler said. “Why destroy something that’s been paid for?”

The concept for Darden Towe, which is jointly owned by the city and county, was conceived in the 1980s after the localities acquired the land. Charlottesville’s City Council and Albemarle’s Board of Supervisors approved the current agreement for the park on May 7, 2007, which states that no athletics field or recreational facility lighting would occur without the consent of both localities.

Softball is one of the area’s most popular sports, with roughly 160 adult softball teams and 2,400 players. A city report showed that 20 percent of the players are city residents, 46 percent are county residents and 34 percent come from independent teams, such as businesses.

City Councilor Julian Taliaferro, a Darden Towe Park Committee member, said the softball players’ needs must be addressed. He said it seemed the most fiscally responsible move was to use existing fields instead of constructing new ones.

“You gotta have someplace to put those folks,” Taliaferro said.

Mike Svetz, Charlottes-ville’s director of Parks and Recreation, said the city would spend $150,000 to install the lights at CHS. Lighting Darden Towe would cost $500,000, with the bill split 70 percent to 30 percent between the county and city.

Svetz said an assessment done by the city showed that replacing McIntire’s softball fields with a rectangular field was the best option because it can be used year-round and accommodate several sports, including football, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey.

“Those are also growing sports in the region,” Svetz said.

He added that the new lighting would more than compensate for the loss of McIntire’s fields. Currently, among the fields at Piedmont Virginia Community College, Darden Towe and McIntire, 22 games are played per night. With the new setup, 22 to 24 games could be played.

“We will have as much if not more capacity for softball,” Svetz said.

Tony Martin, who has played for the Keswick Rangers for two years, said Darden Towe’s fields “are the best fields that we play on in the city.” He added that installing lights makes sense for tournaments — games could be played in a shorter period, saving gas and time for non-local teams.

“It doesn’t make sense to come back on Sunday when you don’t have to,” Martin said.

If the lights were installed, city officials say games would not extend beyond 10 p.m. But the capacity for cars is one of several things that concern Terrell.

“We got enough traffic here now,” she said. “They’ll be out here day and night.”

Wheeler, whose farm is adjacent to Darden Towe, agreed.

“Ray Charles can see that there’s a traffic problem at the intersection of 250 and 20,” said Wheeler, referring to the intersection of Stony Point Road and Long Street. “It’s already terrible.”

Wheeler said only a small wedge of land separates her Stony Point Road farm from Darden Towe, and this isn’t the first time night lighting has invaded her yard.

Fifty-foot lights installed on Pen Park tennis courts in 2005 ignited a firestorm of controversy among nearby residents. The lights cost $82,000 and weren’t compliant with the city’s dark skies ordinance.

“I don’t want a bunch of lights in my side yard, I live in the country,” Wheeler said.

New lights were eventually installed. Though Svetz assured that lighting technology has advanced and Darden Towe’s lights would be energy efficient, Wheeler nonetheless said she fears there will be consistent light pollution on her property.

“The people who live on Stony Point Road fought this battle. The war was over,” Wheeler said. “We were given the assurance by the city and the county that there would never be lights on Darden Towe Park.”

The county and city will each hold a public hearing on the possible lighting, on Oct. 8 and Oct. 20, respectively. Boyd and Taliaferro said they are both looking forward to receiving feedback from their constituents.

“I’m interested to hear what people have to say,” Taliaferro said. “I certainly don’t want to push something on those folks out there that they don’t want.”