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In the past several weeks, three articles in The Union and the Sacramento Bee have appeared about the town of Truckee's plans to tighten restrictions on outdoor lighting. Back here in the western portion of our county, our political leaders and planners should take note.
The last Bee article explained that nighttime vision - the ability to see the starry night sky - has slowly declined in the Truckee area over the years and that new commercial developments are largely responsible. The same can be said for our area, in spades. The article also explained (The Union missed this) that Truckee may look to the International Dark-Sky Association to set its regulations for shielded lighting. The IDSA (darksky.org) has published an excellent and comprehensive set of guidelines designed specifically for governmental use, as well as a long list of dark-sky-friendly lighting devices.
Several years ago, former Supervisor Peter Van Zandt proposed that Nevada County investigate an ordinance regulating outdoor lighting. Unfortunately, he found no support among his fellow supervisors. As a result, there are far too many glaring mercury vapor yard lights in our unincorporated areas.
But the most serious threat to our starry skies are commercial developments in Grass Valley. The last time I looked, the city guidelines on new exterior commercial lighting were long on "should" language and short on strict "shall" requirements. The city does not prohibit mercury vapor yard lights, and there is little control over the overall intensity of commercial lighting. Not all outdoor lights are shielded completely on the top and sides. As a result, we have the Weaver Auto Center, where otherwise good lighting fixtures were installed in vastly excessive numbers. We have numerous large areas with glaring lights - the SPD/K-Mart parking lot and most auto dealerships come to mind.
There are also many small instances of glaring lights throughout the area. To the city's credit, some new projects have good lighting. The Holiday Inn Express tops the list with a reasonable number of light standards; full shielding; and pleasant, cool-spectrum metal halide white lights that create less glare than orange colors.
The remedy for nighttime glare is not rocket science: All outdoor lights, commercial and personal, that are over a minimum wattage, should be fully shielded on the top and sides to prevent sideways and upward glare. There should be very limited exceptions, and existing lighting should be brought into compliance within a specific period. Requiring upgrades to in-place lighting is legal if a reasonable compliance period is offered by planning authorities.
The ability to see the stars from a downtown location will always be limited in any city, no matter how strict lighting standards are. But whether lights are shielded on the tops and sides and are limited in number and intensity makes a huge difference once one moves even a short distance into the country.
Auburn, with no apparent lighting regulation and miles of strip commercial development, creates an enormous glare that impairs nighttime visibility far into the surrounding countryside. The same will be the case for Grass Valley as the city grows, unless the city adopts stricter regulations.
ooo
Harry B. Wyeth lives in Grass Valley.
The last Bee article explained that nighttime vision - the ability to see the starry night sky - has slowly declined in the Truckee area over the years and that new commercial developments are largely responsible. The same can be said for our area, in spades. The article also explained (The Union missed this) that Truckee may look to the International Dark-Sky Association to set its regulations for shielded lighting. The IDSA (darksky.org) has published an excellent and comprehensive set of guidelines designed specifically for governmental use, as well as a long list of dark-sky-friendly lighting devices.
Several years ago, former Supervisor Peter Van Zandt proposed that Nevada County investigate an ordinance regulating outdoor lighting. Unfortunately, he found no support among his fellow supervisors. As a result, there are far too many glaring mercury vapor yard lights in our unincorporated areas.
But the most serious threat to our starry skies are commercial developments in Grass Valley. The last time I looked, the city guidelines on new exterior commercial lighting were long on "should" language and short on strict "shall" requirements. The city does not prohibit mercury vapor yard lights, and there is little control over the overall intensity of commercial lighting. Not all outdoor lights are shielded completely on the top and sides. As a result, we have the Weaver Auto Center, where otherwise good lighting fixtures were installed in vastly excessive numbers. We have numerous large areas with glaring lights - the SPD/K-Mart parking lot and most auto dealerships come to mind.
There are also many small instances of glaring lights throughout the area. To the city's credit, some new projects have good lighting. The Holiday Inn Express tops the list with a reasonable number of light standards; full shielding; and pleasant, cool-spectrum metal halide white lights that create less glare than orange colors.
The remedy for nighttime glare is not rocket science: All outdoor lights, commercial and personal, that are over a minimum wattage, should be fully shielded on the top and sides to prevent sideways and upward glare. There should be very limited exceptions, and existing lighting should be brought into compliance within a specific period. Requiring upgrades to in-place lighting is legal if a reasonable compliance period is offered by planning authorities.
The ability to see the stars from a downtown location will always be limited in any city, no matter how strict lighting standards are. But whether lights are shielded on the tops and sides and are limited in number and intensity makes a huge difference once one moves even a short distance into the country.
Auburn, with no apparent lighting regulation and miles of strip commercial development, creates an enormous glare that impairs nighttime visibility far into the surrounding countryside. The same will be the case for Grass Valley as the city grows, unless the city adopts stricter regulations.
ooo
Harry B. Wyeth lives in Grass Valley.
