Here’s the latest twist in the long-running discussion in Wellesley about whether to approve lights at the high school track and field: A citizen has proposed a non-binding referendum on the lights and the Select Board has this on its agenda for its Jan. 3 meeting.

Resident Laurance Stuntz submitted a petition signed by about 30 people asking the Select Board to consider putting a non-binding referendum on the town ballot for March 1. It would provide an opportunity for all voters to weigh in on the policy question of “should there be lights at the field or not.”

As the referendum would be non-binding, the Natural Resources Commission (NRC)—the land owner—would not be compelled to adhere to the results.

The topic of lights at the field has been the subject of involved studies and meetings over the past few years, including at the start of 2021. It’s also been a subject of discussion at numerous NRC meetings of late, with the Wellesley School Committee making its proposal over the span of meetings in November and December.

Consultants working with the School Committee have been given time to explain the ins and outs of the latest lighting and sound technology, and neighbors opposed to the lights recently shared a presentation arguing for the NRC to stick to its mission of preserving and protecting the town’s parks and conservation areas.

The NRC at its Dec. 14 meeting (see Wellesley Media recording about 30 minutes in) discussed the school system’s proposal, and where to go from here, for the better part of two hours.

NRC Chair Raina McManus raised concerns of a “trust deficit” with neighbors. “It’s hard because we did permit this with no lights and now we’re asking people to think, oh maybe there should be lights. That’s a difficult starting point.”

Based on feedback heard from the public, NRC member Jay McHale lamented: “I don’t hear a lot of room for compromise, which is going to make our job very difficult.”

NRC member Laura Robert kept returning to the idea of possibly scaling things way back, saying the original goal was to have a few community events at night, not dozens. That maybe this would satisfy enough in town, including neighbors whose part of Wellesley has seen many changes in recent years.

Toward the end of the meeting McManus said: “We’ve never really had a project like this before us. It is a monumental decision for the town, so we need to take our time and do it right.”

It’s the time and effort that has been taken in recent months and years that has proponents of lights worn out at this point. Stuntz, a Recreation Commission member speaking as a resident who lives not far from the high school, said the process has “gone on long enough” and that “it’s time for the NRC to vote on whether to move forward with the proposal that the School Committee put forward…”

The NRC isn’t ready to do that yet. In the end, members agreed to take a closer look at the School Committee proposal’s impact on the property subject by subject (traffic, natural resources, noise, etc.), and continue to listen to various perspectives (including the Wellesley High School Council on Jan. 6). NRC members acknowledged the school proposal does address land use issues in detail, but that it needs to take a closer look at whether the proposal satisfies its criteria.

We’ve got all of 2022 to come to a resolution.