There was a USC Township Planning Commission meeting on August 19th. On the Agenda was the School District proposal for installing a turf field at Boyce School. The Planning Commission is charged with reviewing compliance with Township ordinances and other rules. The next Planning Commission meeting is Thursday, September 16th at 7:30 p.m. The Deerfield Homeowners Association board suggests that anyone who an interest/opinion with regard to this subject attend the meeting and "let your voices be heard".

The following is provided merely as information. Specific responses to questions raised at the last Planning Commission meeting will be addressed by the School District and their professionals, in public, on September 16th:

1. Light Towers
   The proposal includes four (4) eighty foot light poles to illuminate the turf field. The light diffusion at the property line is required to be zero by the Township ordinance. A large drawing of the light as it is directed onto the field and diffuses as it goes toward and reaches the property line is being prepared. Once positioned/directed correctly on to the field, the lights will not be movable (although they can be adjusted by the installer if a problem arises). The proposed lights are improved in the focus ability and glare from the lights at the high school stadium, which were new in 2003. A cross-section diagram is being prepared that will show the pole height (80') in relation to the field, to the top of the property at Boyce Road, and to the Deerfield homes most closely adjacent to the School District property.

2. Time Period for Use of Lights
   The Planning Commission inquired about a "reasonable" time limitation on the use of the lights. It was noted that the Upper St. Clair Athletic Association has a 10 p.m. lights out policy. It was suggested that the District would be able to work with that 10 p.m. limit, a time that apparently seems to be "reasonable" from the Township perspective. There may be an occasion when a game may run a little later, for example, due to a rain delay, but that overall the 10 p.m. time could be honored.

3. PA System
   The Township ordinance stipulates that sound cannot be louder than 90 decibels at a point 20 feet from the source of the sound. The School District will likely suggest adding a built-in speaker system to the anticipated/proposed scoreboard. This would ensure that the speakers would always remain in the same position and not be subject to inadvertent movement or adjustment. The scoreboard would be at the toe of the hill and face toward the field, thus away from Boyce Road with the sound directed away from Deerfield. The architect will provide examples of what sounds have what decibel level. As a point of reference: 70 decibels is a typewriter or TV; 80 decibels is an alarm clock 2 feet from your head; 90 decibels is a lawn mower, shop tool or truck traffic; 94 decibels is walk-man ear phones at 50% volume; 100 decibels is a chain saw. The architect has been asked to obtain an engineering drawing that shows the decibel levels as you move out from the sound source (similar to the light diffusion drawing).