A proposal to build a lighted athletic complex at a Bloomingdale park has divided residents between empty nesters who oppose the plan and parents of young children who want more recreational opportunities.
Dorothy and Michael Mazur at a recent meeting endorsed the Bloomingdale Park District`s plan to construct more illuminated fields at Springfield Park. The 40-acre area is Bloomingdale`s biggest park and is located between Lake Street and Indian Lakes Country Club.
Property values in the area will decline if the park is not improved, said Dorothy Mazur, who has three youngsters.
”The message will be, `If you have children, don`t buy in
Bloomingdale,` ” she said.
But 78-year-old Dick Hourigan, one of several retirees who attended the meeting, said he likes kids but disliked the plan. It would concentrate so many lighted athletic facilities together that the park would become a late-night regional sports center instead of a quiet neighborhood park, he said.
”Don`t you (say) that I`m a retired old man who hates kids. I`m just saying you don`t have to put every baseball field in there with lights,” he said.
Like many of the plan`s opponents, Hourigan lives near Springfield Park in the Chateau Lorraine subdivision. Many residents already complain about existing baseball diamond lights shining through their windows.
The debate over Springfield Park broke out at a Village Board meeting when trustees started to discuss whether to approve the site plans for the project.
Although the Park District is developing the park, the village`s zoning power gives it the authority to approve or reject the plans.
The proposal calls for the building of lighted basketball courts, soccer fields, batting cages, paths and an ice rink. Also to be constructed are tennis courts and a nature center.
Lights at Springfield Park have a history of controversy: In 1989, the village refused to allow the Park District to build an illuminated driving range in the park. A lawsuit that followed was dropped last year when the two sides appeared to reach an accord on how the park would be developed.
But trustees at the park meeting joined residents in criticizing the new proposal.
The Village Board is scheduled to vote on the issue at its Monday meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m.
