LAGUNA BEACH : Brighter Lights in Store at Ball Field

The session went into extra innings and ended in a tie.

Despite some homeowners’ objections about Little League night games at Riddle Field, the City Council voted unanimously this week to increase lighting, though not to the level recommended by the national Little League organization.

After hearing nearly two hours of public comment Tuesday night, council members settled on the compromise.

“The starting point of this is the need to make some trade-offs,” Councilman Paul P. Freeman told the homeowners.

“The lighting was put in 30 years ago, and then you moved in. Was the expectation that these lights would be removed? I’d like to see some compromise from the neighbors of Riddle Field.”

But Ilse Lenschow, president of a community group, said officials have promised homeowners for years that improvements at the park would not affect neighbors.

“The safety of our children is most important to everyone,” Lenschow said. “But at the same time, so is the right of each property owner for the quiet enjoyment of his or her property.”

Russ Owens, the consultant designing the new lighting, said the improvements--raising three of the field’s four light poles and increasing wattage--will allow him to focus the lights downward and cut down on “spillage” and glare. The change would be analogous to switching from high-beams to low-beam lights on a car, he said.