The Seattle City Council yesterday voted against giving the go-ahead to field lights at seven athletic fields planned for Sand Point Magnuson Park, opting instead to approve only four fields now and telling parks officials they'll have to come back later for approval of the last three.

The maneuver, led by Councilman Peter Steinbrueck, was opposed by the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners and by supporters of athletic fields, who accused the council of retreating from the hard-fought compromise plan agreed to last year governing the park's future development.

"Backtracking at this point is a betrayal," said Ed D'Alessandro, fields advocate for the Seattle Youth Soccer Association. He said the move could open the door to further erosion of the athletic-field plans by opponents.

Kate Pflaumer, chairwoman of the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners, said the advisory panel was unanimously opposed to Steinbrueck's proposal. The issues surrounding the park were hashed out last year, Pflaumer said: "Don't come back and start over again."

But critics of the athletic fields praised the council action and said the city needs to ensure that the lighted fields don't harm the neighbors or wildlife habitat. Several expressed distrust of the Parks Department and its Superintendent Ken Bounds.

"If you give [the Parks Department] all the cookies now, how do you know they will do the chores? Basic parental guidance," said Gail Chiarello, one of several field-light critics who showed up to support Steinbrueck's proposal yesterday.

Steinbrueck said the council still intends to eventually allow seven lighted athletic fields at Magnuson Park. But since the city has funding secured for only three or four of the fields, he argued, it makes sense to allow those to go forward and then examine the impacts before approving the rest.

Councilman David Della, who helped broker a compromise plan last year, argued that the council should stick by its earlier decisions and grant the parks department's request for a zoning variance on all seven fields. "I think we need to live by our own word as a council," he said.

Della proposed an amendment to approve the lights at all seven fields, but it was rejected on a 5-3 vote.

The zoning variance approved by the council allows the first four fields to be lit with poles up to 85 feet high, taller than the current 30-foot height limit. After that lighting is in place for two years, the city will review its impacts and decide what to do about the other three fields.

That proposal has been hugely controversial, and earlier plans to build 11 lighted fields were already whittled down to seven in the compromise reached last year.

Council members Richard Conlin, Jean Godden, Jim Compton and Nick Licata joined Steinbrueck in the majority vote to reject Della's amendment. Della, Richard McIver and Council President Jan Drago voted for the amendment. Councilman Tom Rasmussen was absent.

After the fight over the amendment, the council voted 7-1 to approve the zoning variance, with Della voting no.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com