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Politics & Government

Zoning Board Continues Hearing on Cougar Field Lighting

Next hearing expected in early November in Madison.

Madison neighbors from Union Hill Road, Independence Court and Barnesdale Road turned out Thursday to hear their hired planner argue before the Madison Zoning Board of Adjustment for a more thorough review of the Chatham Board of Education’s plans to light a soccer field that shares its boundary with Madison.

Peter Steck, a planner based in Maplewood, argued that Madison’s zoning officer, Frank Russo, “was partly correct” when he denied Chatham’s application in December, 2010 to erect a series of seven 60- and 70-foot-high light poles on what is known as the Star 2 soccer field.

What the Madison neighbors, also known as the Cougar Field Neighborhood Preservation Association, want is a formal process where Madison and Chatham publicly approve or disapprove site plan applications for the Cougar Field Sports Complex, thereby making any denials or future improvements permanent.

“It needs to be thoroughly vetted,” said Union Hill resident Tom Driscoll.

Wading through the complicated land use code, Steck argued that since the end zone for Cougar Stadium lies in Madison property, the site must be reviewed on a “composite” basis with the idea that anything that occurs in the complex, be it lighting or parking improvements, has a potential impact on both municipalities.

Stuart Koenig, Chatham BOE attorney, and Chatham Township attorney Carl Woodward believe that since Star 2 Field lies solely in Chatham Township, Madison no longer has a legal say in the matter.

Both entities are following Superior Court Judge Hugh Dumont’s ruling in November, 2008 that the two Chathams and Madison receive zoning board approvals  in order to erect lights.

Initially, the Chatham BOE wanted to erect 85-foot-high light stanchions at the stadium, a proposal which threw the matter into litigation after 2005.

In 2009, Chatham changed its proposal to lighting Star 2 with shorter poles and no light spillage, however, Steck said that lighting a field obviously indicated more intense usage of the field which could ultimately affect the Madison portion, too.

If the Madison panel rules that a site plan application with all its possibilities of triggering use variances and site variances is needed, then it will also trigger a jurisdictional argument on whether a bordering town can influence another town’s land use law.

The role of Madison’s board, however, was still unclear well into the hearing when board attorney Gary Hall asked, “What are you asking [for],” to which Steck replied his clients wanted something “broader than what the zoning officer expressed in his letter.

The lighting issue has been a source of contention since 1995 when Steck said both Madison and Chatham Township recommended against lighting the field. In 2005, artifical turf was installed at Cougar Field and the BOE has used temporary lights at their night football games, although those lights are only 30 feet high, said Woodward.

The current application heard in July will continue in November, although no date was chosen. At the next meeting, Steck is expected to continue his testimony and then it will be the turn of Chatham BOE planner, P. David Zimmerman.

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