A club soccer coach in Louisiana who illuminated a field on his own property is now the target of a class action lawsuit filed by 20 of his neighbors.
As reported by CBS affiliate WAFB in Baton Rouge, Dr. Mike Robichaux coaches the LA Force club soccer team. He installed 90-foot stadium lights around a soccer field on his property — a field he said he has maintained for decades — after he said the parish removed his team from fields at the Lamar Dixon Complex.
The parish took Robichaux to court over improper lighting, unpermitted work and zoning issues, WAFB's Ethan Tuttle reported. A judge ruled weeks ago that Robichaux and the LA Force could continue using the field, provided the 90-foot stadium lights remain off.
Robichaux said he offered to relocate the lights to a parish facility before the case went to court.
“Right off the bat I offered to take them down, move them to a parish facility for use of the parish facility so our kids could go train there,” Robichaux said. “Sounds like a reasonable offer. The parish would have increased utilization of their facility, would be able to use it at night, and our kids would have a place to train that doesn’t interfere with the neighborhood; we can play our games there; it’s a win-win.”
Despite the court ruling in his favor, Robichaux was served with a temporary restraining order filed by 20 neighbors, per Tuttle's report. The class action suit cites noise from practices and games, light pollution and safety concerns. Neighbors also previously raised flooding concerns related to recent turf field construction. Robichaux provided drainage studies in response to those concerns.
Robichaux said the stadium lights have not been on since the parish took him to court and that lighting specialists confirmed the lights met residential regulations after adjustments were made when he first learned of complaints, Tuttle reported.
“I want to be a good neighbor just like I want them to be good neighbors,” Robichaux said. “Okay, it’s a two-way street; property rights are a two-way street. You know, I think that they have their rights; I have my rights. That’s the way I look at it.”
