Rather than the issue being Nimbys, is it not more a safety issue - as in - someone turning the lights off when someone else is on approach?
Licensed aerodromes are likely to have a much greater volume of traffic than unlicensed.
Two planes are approaching an airfield at night, the first guy turns it on (say by SMS), then the second guys turns it on as well. The first guy doesn't know about the second guy, so once he vacates, he then turns the lights off again - leaving the second guy in the dark...
Landing at night is likely controlled by other means (simply no permission granted to land between certain times).