Plans for brighter lights at Valley Creek College’s sports complex will be put on the back burner for now.
Valley Creek Church withdrew its request to allow lights brighter than what is allowed in Flower Mound’s code of ordinances for the pickleball and sports field located at the church’s college campus, which is currently under construction.
It was expected to be voted on by town council at its regular meeting Monday.
According to Flower Mound Mayor Cheryl Moore, the request was withdrawn after the plans faced scrutiny from nearby residents and the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
“The Valley Creek Church pickleball lighting waiver was withdrawn this evening due to the outcome of the Planning and Zoning meeting,” announced Moore before the Monday town council meeting got underway.
Valley Creek College is moving into the old Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church Family Life Center, which is located at the northwest corner of Dixon Lane and Morriss Road.
On the campus, Valley Creek College plans to include a chapel, classrooms and learning labs, a fully-functioning café and library, an athletic complex and communal spaces.
The sports complex didn’t cause much alarm for residents until they learned it could be used until as late at 11 p.m. and the church was requesting a waiver to allow lights nearly double what is allowed by the town’s ordinances.
VCC originally planned to use lights measuring 20 foot-candles around the field and pickleball courts, but came to Flower Mound P&Z on Monday, Sept. 28 to request lights measuring more than 42 foot-candles.
A VCC representative was confident that neighbors and the town would be happy with the noise mitigation efforts put in place and didn’t anticipate any of the brighter lighting to escape into neighboring properties due to the type of light they planned to use.
However, residents still spoke out about the plan and P&Z’s commissioners were worried they might not truly know how the extra lighting affects neighbors until after the lights go up, which could be too late to make changes.
Valley Creek College plans to put up lighting that measures at or under the town’s limit of 20 foot-candles for the athletic complex for now, and seeing how well it works for the complex.
During a conversation between council and town staff, Mayor Pro Tem Adam Schiestel suggested residents might ought to support the waiver because it would give council the ability to impose some conditions and restrictions on VCC’s use of the facility.
“Maybe play ball on the lighting waiver. Then, we would have a mechanism to say hours of operation and who can play,” he said. “We can get those promises written and the town would have the ability to enforce those standards… so there may be some benefit to us reopening that dialogue.”
Council member Chris Drew, along with member Janvier Werner, believed it would be worth making athletic facilities something that could only be approved with a special use permit, meaning proposed facilities would have to come before P&Z and council in order to be built.
The rest of council agreed and believed it would be worth having the conversation so council has a chance to limit its uses and hours in the interest of neighboring properties.
Town staff clarified the lighting allowed for outdoor recreation is very similar to the lighting allowed for parking lots around town.
