Community Education

“I’m going to go ahead and approve the exception”: Gig Harbor High School track and field on-track for new lighting

Gig Harbor High School’s track and field is on its way to getting upgraded field lighting as part of the high school’s $3.1 million track and field renovation project.

Construction on the project began in mid-May and is slated to wrap up in October, barring delays. In addition to installing upgraded lighting, work crews will lay down turf on the athletic field, resurface the worn track and install ADA-accessible bleachers. Pending city approval of required permits, they may also install a new LED scoreboard capable of displaying a range of graphics.

‘This is on the easy side’

Hearing Examiner Mark Scheibmeir indicated he’d put his approval in writing as soon as possible, after an approximately 20-minute hearing on June 16. He did not have any questions for the city of Gig Harbor’s senior planner, Nestor Guevara, who briefly presented the lighting and its possible environmental impacts.

“I think I’ve said this before. Some applications are harder than others. Some are much easier than others. This is on the easy side,” Scheibmeir said of his decision. “An obvious need, well-explained. … So I’m going to go ahead and approve the exception. I will do so in writing within a relatively short time.”

Though the city approved the project’s site plan, the applicant — DA Hogan and Associates, which is representing Gig Harbor High School — needed a height exception for the lights.

Near wetlands

The project’s proximity to wetlands is one of the important considerations for the lighting. According to city documents, the nearest wetland is 350 feet away from the project site at the closest point.

A landscape buffer separates the wetland from the track. Tall evergreen trees provide shielding, and the design of the lights — in a shoebox-style fixture, with the lights standing at 80 feet tall, directed downward, and the pole and lightbox painted a dark color — should reduce light spillover and glare.

A graphic shows the location of the lights and the forested area that separates them from a nearby wetland.

No members of the public commented on the application.

Earlier in the application process, Squaxin Island Tribe archaeologist Shaun Dinubilo called on the city to comply with any recommendations from the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. He also asked that the applicant and contractors have an Inadvertent Discovery Plan on-site in case workers uncover any archaeological or cultural resources.