Rolling Hills Country Club Looks to Add Lighting

If there's any opposition from neighbors to Rolling Hills Country Club adding lighting to its tennis courts, you wouldn't have known it by Monday's Planning and Zoning meeting.

Rolling Hills has submitted a proposal to add 22-foot-tall light posts and fixtures on four of its eight existing tennis courts, hoping to extend the hours these courts will be playable for its current membership.

Representing the country club, attorney Clarissa Cannavino told the P&Z commission at its Feb. 15 meeting  that the club will be adding a number of landscaping elements to ensure low light impact on the surrounding neighborhood, and will only allow play on the courts during specific, previously approved periods.

Cannavino said the courts will be lit no later than 10 p.m. and will be in use primarily between May and October. She added that the increased lighting is designed solely to service the club's current membership, not as a tool to attract additional members.

Earl Goven, owner of Shelton-based landscaping firm Blades and Goven LLC, provided a detailed account of the plantings Rolling Hills plans to include to inhibit spillage from the new lighting. There will also be shields installed on the rear of each lighting unit, cutting spillage from 50-60 feet down to about 20-40 feet from the courts, still a ways away from any nearby residences.

Commission members questioned Goven about how natural the plantings will look after being inserted into the current landscaping plan after the fact. Commissioner Bas Nabulsi said he was worried that some of the trees and plantings would scream out that they were there for "shielding purposes" and that, he argued, might compromise the general attractiveness of the rest of the property.

Goven said in addition to some hedgerows, his company plans to use thee types of trees that will all be attractive and integrate seamlessly into the current landscape: spruce, upright hornbeam, and arborvitae.

"I really do think these are some of the better plant materials for the job," Goven said of the selections.

"As far as I can visualize it, I do like the proposed landscaping," said P&Z Chairwoman Sally Poundstone. "It does seem to offer a little variety."

Goven also said, when asked for a comparison, that the proposed installation at Rolling Hills has about ten times fewer light fixtures in a comparable area as the Lake Club, another area organization that .

That public hearing featured plenty of residents in attendance to speak out against the increased lighting proposal. Rolling Hills' hearing, by contrast, featured none.

"I'm a little surprised that there's no opposition here," said commissioner Mike Rudolph.

"I'm shocked that none of the neighbors are here," added commissioner Marilyn Gould.

The commission expects to render a decision on the Rolling Hills proposal at its next meeting in March.