Patton Lights Given OK to Stay on Until 10 p.m.

The lights at can now stay on until 10 p.m.

That’s the decision from the Hamilton Zoning Board of Appeals after the Recreation Department

The decision was made by the board earlier this month, but a final written decision was not issued until Tuesday.

In its decision, the board said its review of new light hours was based on a prior agreement to review the hours a year after . Chief Russell Stevens told the board that there had been no problems under the lights now and did not expect problems if the lights were to remain on until 10 p.m.

A complete copy of the two-page ZBA decision is attached to this story as a PDF.

The move had received the OK of the Board of Selectmen and Planning Board before going before the ZBA for a permit. In an unscientific poll on Hamilton-Wenham Patch, 82 percent of respondents said that they fully supported allowing the lights to stay on later. Six percent said they were opposed and 7 percent said they favored expanding the time but felt there should be a limit on the days a week or days per summer that the lights be allowed to stay on until 10 p.m.

Recreation Director Sean Timmons said previously that the extended time for the lights would likely be used mostly by basketball and tennis players. There is a separate light system for just the courts that can be controlled by players by a button along the tennis courts fence closest to Asbury Street.

The lights on the Little League field are set week-by-week by Simmons in consultation with the youth leagues. Only for special events, such as , would the lights on the baseball filed likely be on past 9:15 p.m.