Warrington’s Dark Sky policy shouldn’t leave our youth sports programs in the dark
For over 12 years, I have called Warrington Township my home. As a resident and taxpayer, and recently a candidate for supervisor, I have been educating myself about the role of supervisor, the issues raised by residents, and the challenges facing our township.
One issue has been the topic of discussion at several recent board meetings: Warrington’s “Dark Sky” resolution. The resolution includes a “Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions to Maintain Dark Sky” which prevents our youth from playing sports at Lion’s Pride, IPW, and Upper Nike Park after dusk. Covenants and restrictions are not township law, but private legal agreements enforceable by a court, making them very difficult to change.
To begin with, the Dark Sky International initiatives are worthy and noble. These initiatives aim to reduce light pollution, preserve nighttime environment, and protect wildlife. However, even the best-intentioned policies should be balanced in their effect on communities. Warrington’s application of Dark Sky is overly stringent and in conflict with the needs of our youth sports programs and not adaptable to the changing needs of Warrington.
In April 2021, a majority of the township supervisors in office at the time, approved a Dark Sky Resolution banning lights at the Bradley Road parklands (Lion’s Pride, IPW and Upper Nike Park) — fields used by our youth sports programs. This decision rendered these fields unusable by our children after dusk and during the most critical months of their season.
I reviewed the 2021 Warrington Board of Supervisors meeting videos discussing Dark Sky and the board’s decision to implement it in Warrington. I was disturbed that the supervisors decided on the most aggressive application, rendering their Dark Sky decision nearly impossible to overturn or amend, ignoring the future needs of Warrington. In the Board meetings, no one presented any data or facts or discussed whether an environmental study was performed to support their assumptions about impact on wildlife, instead imposing the harshest restrictions possible on our community. The matter seemed to be discussed with a select few and did not appear to be widely socialized among residents or groups who were directly impacted by the decision.
Isn’t the board supposed to act in the best interest of the community as a whole? Instead of deciding on a resolution that could be amended should there be a need by a future Board of Supervisors, the 2021 board purposely ensured their decision would be nearly impossible to reverse, making it seemingly permanent. A decision that is tying up the hands of the current supervisors against a backdrop of community protest.
That decision not only lacked foresight but also raised serious ethical concerns. Ruth Schemm, the vice chair of the 2021 board, who voted in favor of the most stringent resolution, lives directly adjacent to the Bradley Road parklands and benefited from passing this declaration. Ms. Schemm would not need to worry about noise or lights after dusk and used her position as board vice chair to vote on and influence the outcome of the vote — in other words, for personal gain. That’s a conflict of interest no matter how you look at it. She never recused herself from discussions or decisions. Is that the leadership we want? Furthermore, Ms. Schemm did recuse herself from a September 9, 2025 Board of Supervisors vote to have the Warrington solicitor draft an opinion letter regarding the options for implementing lighting at Lion’s Pride/IPW/Upper Nike Park, citing a “conflict of interest” without providing additional insight from when she voted “yes” in March of 2021 for a Dark Sky Resolution to include the declaration of covenant to maintain the highest degree of protection.
Now, just four years later, the consequences are clear. The Warrington Soccer Youth Program, a longstanding part of our community, is struggling. Membership is affected; directors and coaches are making repeated pleas to the current board to help them solve this important issue — to permit lights that are Dark Sky International compliant with new technology developed by MUSCO lighting used in neighboring municipalities and across the United States that would allow Warrington players to use the Bradley Road parkland fields after dusk. The Warrington Soccer team’s directors even offered to pay for this Dark Sky International approved lighting, yet the township’s rigid policy blocks any progress.
The declaration did not have to happen. This decision by the 2021 Board of Supervisors has longstanding consequences. Our parks should be enjoyed by all. A fair balance in quality-of-life opportunities should be available to our community, not rules punishing our youth and families who depend on those fields and their township for a sense of belonging, activity, and growth.
Michele DeBlasio is a candidate for Warrington Township supervisor.
