Foothill High's lights illuminate neighborhood

The Las Vegas Valley may be known for its bright lights, but one Henderson man can't escape the glare even in his own home.

Jim Born, a 13-year resident of Vermillion Drive in the city's Highland Hills area, has spent close to three years fighting to shield his home from Foothill High School's outdoor sports lighting.

The school, at 800 College Drive, has a football field that borders Born's back yard -- and so do the 120-foot light poles. Lights of two of the four beam right into Born's home.

"When those lights are on, it lights up my whole house," he said. "The lights even shine into my bedroom, and it really bothers my wife because she suffers from multiple sclerosis, and she gets migraine headaches from the light."

They illuminate not only Born's home, but also his entire neighborhood, he said. "I took a picture of the neighborhood at night without a flash, and when you're driving down Vermillion with the lights facing you, it blinds you. One woman couldn't even complete her turn."

It's easy to see the problem while standing in Born's back yard at night. Two of the four football field lights shine over his fence and down onto his house and patio with such intensity that it is hard to look up for more than a few seconds.

"It's like having a spotlight shining into your house, and they were on one night as late as past midnight," he said. "I can turn off all of the lights in my house and still have it lit up.

"At least I can save money on my electric bill," he added dryly.

The problem has gotten so bad that Born has asked the city of Henderson to revoke the school's use permit for the lights.

The Planning Commission on Jan. 27 sided with Born and other neighbors who complained about what the lights had done to their neighborhood.

Until the school comes up with another solution, the Planning Commission ordered that the lights be used only two nights a week and must be off by 8 p.m.

Dusty Dickens, director of zoning and realty for the Clark County School District, disputes that the lights have been left on late into the night.

"I live near Foothills High School, and I can see the lights when I'm driving by," she said. "I haven't seen them on late once the school opened (in August). Before it opened, they may have been working on them and left the lights on late once."

While Henderson's planning staff recommended shields be placed on the lights to deflect the beams, the Planning Commission left the solution up to School District, as long as the neighbors are satisfied.

The School District has until March 27 to solve the problem -- by possibly turning down the intensity, installing shields, redirecting them or any other means.

The neighborhood will then have 30 days to view the lights when they are on to see if the problem is solved. Then Born can decide whether or not to ask the Henderson City Council to revoke the light permit.

"This should have never gotten to the point where we have to threaten revocation to get the lighting fixed," Planning Commission Vice Chairman Dale Lay said. "But I wouldn't want to revoke the permit right now because too many good things come from the lights."

Born was afraid such a problem would occur from the time he first heard about plans for the school in early 1997. He says he called Henderson City Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers at the time, and Cyphers called the school district.

Cyphers, he said, "told me not to worry because the school district had assured her there wouldn't be a problem."

And there shouldn't have been a problem, School District officials say.

"We were told by the company contracted, Roche Construction, who put in the lights, that they would be in compliance with the city code," Fred Smith, director of construction for the Clark County School District, said.

"It wasn't until recently when we did our own test and found out that there was a problem," he said. "We have given the contractor a first and a second notice to fix the lights, and if they don't, we'll get another contractor to do it. "We recognize our responsibility to fix the situation. We will do what it takes to make it right."

Henderson planners are working toward that goal too, though they say the school district has been slow to respond.

"I'm disappointed that it had to come to this point to fix the problem," Greg Toth, a planning analyst with Henderson's Community Development Department, said. "The city is going to work with the School District to fix the lights."

Born said that the one thing he is happy about is the city's response to the problem.

"It's nice to know that a little guy can still win and that the city stands behind you," he said.

While many of Born's neighbors support his complaint, others are upset that he may be jeopardizing the safety of children who attend the football games and other school sporting events at night. Many parents of Foothill High School students asked the Planning Commission not to revoke the permit, because it might deprive students of school sports.

Born says his intention was never to take the lights away from the students, but just to make his home livable again.

"I wasn't trying to be an ogre. I actually liked the idea of a school being near my home," he said. "But in Southern Nevada, you have the glare of the sun all day, and now I have to have lights glaring into my home. I can't even give my eyes a break from the light."

As Born spoke one evening last week, with the temporary curfew in place, the field lights shut off a little early, at 7:20 p.m.

"Ahh," Born sighed with relief. "This is nice. The lights are off, and it's peaceful again."

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