Letter to the Editor: Steering Committee to Continue Fight for Lights

As recently reported, the Peninsula Stadium Lights Steering Committee has chosen to fight on in its quest for Friday night lights football. Our committee is doing so not because we were merely “disappointed” that there will not be lights, as the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District claims. Rather, the fundamental issues driving us now are the disregard the School Board and district showed for the very individuals and families who are the most supportive of the school district and our belief about the lack of integrity these public officials showed in the way they ended the project.

In July of 2010, the board authorized fundraising with a goal to complete an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to impartially assess the impact of stadium lights at on the community. An EIR is both responsible and fair as it allows for scientific studies of potential environmental impacts to the community. It also allows for community comments and responses. Thus, all arguments regarding impacts would be addressed and mitigation measures suggested. 

From the outset, there was opposition to the project, but the board authorized the fundraising anyway, by a 5-0 vote. The board always took the position that the concerns of the opponents would be addressed in the EIR process.

For nearly a year afterward, our committee tirelessly raised funds for the project. Hundreds of Palos Verdes residents and others generously donated over $250,000. Along the way, thousands of kids—many of whom participated personally and directly in the fundraising—had their hopes raised and their hearts set on playing or watching football under the lights. They especially believed in it because of the support shown by the district.

One of the biggest concerns opponents had was how often the lights would be used. Our committee wanted to openly tell them that the intended use was extremely limited—five to seven nights a year for football games only. We didn’t do so because the district asked us not to, still saying that this and other issues would be addressed through the EIR.

During this time, we were also repeatedly asked by district officials not to communicate with the opponents and not to write letters or seek other coverage rebutting their arguments. We complied with the district’s requests because we understood that we were working together and that the issues raised by the opponents would be aired during the EIR process. We believed this because that is what the district and the board repeatedly told us and others.

Then, on July 14 of this year, the board ended the project without ever going through the very process it had promised. The board cited “community divisiveness” created by opposition to the project. But the board knew about that opposition from the beginning and it never took any steps, or allowed our committee to take any, to work with the opponents to reach a fair resolution. Since July 14, we have tried all available means short of litigation to reach a reasonable solution. The district’s rejection of our efforts has left us no other way to proceed.

In ending the project in this way, the board broke its promises to our committee, the kids, and the hundreds of members of the public who donated. So, this isn't just about disappointment that we didn't get lights. It's about the integrity and truthfulness of this process, about all the time and energy spent by so many of us within our committee and in our community, and about believing that our public officials will do as they promised.

— Peninsula Stadium Lights Steering Committee

Editor's Note: This guest commentary, submitted by the Peninsula Stadium Lights Steering Committee, also appeared in the Daily Breeze on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

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