After months of back-and-forth arguments about the benefits and drawbacks of an updated athletic stadium, including 70- to 80-foot-tall lights, the Carmel Unified School District board voted on Nov. 29 to move forward with the project.
But the victory for the project was short-lived. Residents from the group Save Carmel filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, Dec. 28 against the district and its school board.
The lawsuit is unsurprising, and CUSD was expecting it, but litigation will further stall (if not entirely stop) the project that has so far been delayed by nearly two years. One imminent logistical challenge for CHS is that installing stadium lights would provide practice time for student-athletes in evenings, and scheduling is linked to later school start times. In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newson signed Senate Bill 328 into law, which requires later high school start times (it would move from the current start time of 7:45am to 8:30am at Carmel High).
“I’m trying to make sure that we are not sacrificing our students’ academics so they can still play sports,” CUSD Superintendent Ted Knight said in February.
District officials long ago recognized residents’ resistance to the project, and decided to do additional public vetting, including revising an environmental impact report in January. While the new EIR provided several accommodations—such as a commitment to ending practice by 8pm and dimming the lights after practice ends—one key impact remained unavoidable: nighttime glare and skyglow.
As the lawsuit states: “It is impossible to overstate the importance of the iconic view, clear skies and tranquil nights to the legacy and culture of Carmel, or its value to locals and visitors. Since CHS was founded in 1940, its view has been an iconic part of the beauty of the CHS campus.”
Residents have said the lights would drastically change Carmel’s ambiance and increase light pollution in a city that is known for its dark sky. “The Residential Design Guidelines encourage the preservation of low nighttime lighting throughout residential neighborhoods,” according to Carmel’s residential design guidelines.
In a press release announcing the lawsuit, Save Carmel called the project approval is an “abuse of discretion,” meaning the board didn’t consider all the facts nor make a reasonable decision on the project. “Save Carmel objects to the lack of compliance with [the California Environmental Quality Act] during the administrative proceedings. CUSD and Board of Education members did not adequately review, respond, or address public comments.”
The lawsuit, filed by attorneys Huntington Beach-based Tiffany P. Scarborough and Aptos-based William Parkin in Monterey County Superior Court on behalf of Save Carmel, alleges the project does not comply with the CEQA and the EIR didn’t properly address the impact of the additional lighting, nighttime noise, emergency exits, and pedestrian safety, and that it failed to consider alternatives to reduce environmental impacts.
“We’ve done everything they’ve asked us to do, except for not putting them up,” Knight said in February.
He adds that he has not yet read the suit nor been served with a lawsuit, but says, “We stand resolute in our decision to do what is best for students, and if we are indeed sued, we will fight it.”
The lawsuit raises objections to the EIR and also asks a judge to issue an injunction blocking construction from proceeding.