Sandy Springs council rejects Mount Vernon School request to add lights to Ron Hill Field

The Sandy Springs City Council voted Tuesday to deny Mount Vernon School’s request to amend a conditional use permit that would allow installation and use of lights on the school’s Ron Hill athletic field.

The decision followed a three-hour public hearing in which planning staff described proposed conditions for limiting light spillage, restricting hours and imposing noise limits; the school’s representatives argued the lights would improve student safety and provide new athletic opportunities; and dozens of neighbors said lighting would permanently change the character of four adjacent protected neighborhoods.

Planning and zoning manager Michelle McIntosh Ross told the council the school’s application (U-24-3) would amend an earlier permit (U17-001) and that staff’s recommended conditions would, among other things, limit light spillage at adjacent property lines to well below the city standard, require Dark Sky International certification before first use, impose a curfew on lighting and add noise restrictions not currently applied to schools. “The proposed light installation complies with the lighting standards per the city codes,” McIntosh Ross said during her presentation.

Mount Vernon representatives argued the lights are needed for student…