Let there be light? Special election planned for light ordinance
BANDON, Ore. -- Local lawmakers are planning a special election on an exterior lighting ordinance in Bandon.
The dark sky ordinance would allow the city of Bandon to regulate lights outside both public and private property within city limits.
The proposed restriction looks to diminish the amount of light during nighttime hours to protect wildlife habitats, preserve Bandon's night skies and conserve energy resources.
Opponents of the measure say it is a violation of their property rights.
Rob Taylor, one of those opponents, was responsible for collecting enough signatures to get the ordinance on the ballot for a vote.
"My side is very simple. Do you want the City of Bandon ... to dictate to you what kind of lights you will have on your property? When they don't know what you will need to keep yourself safe," said Taylor.
Ballots will be mailed out on Feb. 22, and voters have a couple of weeks to cast their vote.
Oh for Pete's Sake! Â If we really want to address 'Light Pollution' why aren't we addressing it where it's noticeable - having just driven into Portland last Sunday, I'd suggest we start there. Â One can see the glow for miles around, and on a particularly overcast dark evening can see it from even farther out, creating a great landmark. Â Actually quite lovely! Â This is just another heavy-handed technique by folks who think they know better than anyone else. Â A control issue. Â Is there any documentable proof that lights are a problem to the wildlife? Â If so, please tell me it's not information that comes from the same agency that wants to dim said lights. Â (you know - the fox guarding the henhouse syndrome) Â And IF there is any such problem (which the casual observance of wildlife abundance would not indicate) then let's listen to my dad, who said that you can get a lot farther with honey than with vinegar.
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We're darkening skies to protect What? The Bandon Marsh has been singled out. Prior to it being "protected," it was home to a very large, diverse wildlife population, night lights and all. It still is. Bandon has been around over a hundred years with all kinds of lights at night. Still, Bandon today sports a wildlife population within its city limits that includes myriad birds (including night owls), rodents, possums, raccoons, deer, and elk none of which seems bothered by the light. The only animals missing seem to be the lions and bears likely because Bandon is lit at night. This is bad? Almost all of Bandon's lighting has a basis in safety. The lighting evolved because it was needed. Bandon faces stiff liability fines for future consequences that should have been foreseeable. As for conserving energy... Bandon is in the business of SELLING energy! And some years back I heard of a Rockologist. If I recall, he stated that the surface rocks are the sturdiest of all rocks, precisely because of their exposure to the elements specifically including all of the light spectrum exposures. It was the protected rocks below that were the weakest. So, Bandon, relax. Turn on your lights, enjoy your BBQs, honor your flags, light your paths and drives. Just be considerate.
I see the lighting regulation as just another step of government controlling my life. Those people who think they know best saying what I can or can't do with my personal property. Last time I checked Bandon is part of Oregon and Oregon is still part of the United States. My choice on how I wish to protect my Family, Property or Home is up to me, and not some city council or Bureaucrat setting behind a desk. If neighbors have problems they need to talk it over and not act like children at school. Besides that who is going to pay for the enforcement of this regulation and who is going to police (enforce) it. This isn't a job of our police department as they already have to many problems.
This is a quality of life issue, you can have all the light you want in "your" yard, but when it trespasses into your neighbors bedroom window that is one of the problems. If light made you "safe", downtown LA in the middle of the night would be the safest place on the planet. The dusk to dawn "yard" light only means the thug doesn't have to carry a flashlight. Motion sensors alert you and your neighbors that something is moving around. Most of this ordinance is about putting the light down to the task at ground level, preventing glare for drivers, and preventing sky glow over Bandon. Go look at the lights in the parking lot at Ray's... those are cutoff style fixtures that put the light down to the task and do not light the underside of aircraft landing at night. There are more than ten cities in Oregon (Sisters was the first) and one county that have Dark Sky ordinances... beyond that there are states and countries that have the same. Yard lights where developed 60 years ago and a hand full of people had them... now they are ubiquitous to the point you can no longer see the Milky Way in your backyard. International Dark-Sky Association http://www.darksky.org/ is the best educational source on this subject for adult and children.Â
Certain kinds of people always seem to always use the guise of safety in order to justify waste. After all, has not this man heard of motion sensors? They actually do work, and likely would be allowed under any changes to Bandon's laws... and unless literally every household in Bandon were to be ransacked at the same time, light pollution would not be a problem.
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I don't necessarily support this idea, but given what I see each night driving home from work, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that this fight has NOT ONE THING to do with anyone's personal safety; it has to do with some well-off homeowners who want to show off how much more important they (think they) are. Meanwhile, some slick talker is probably convincing a bunch of "they're taking my rights" simpletons who have no dog in this fight whatsoever to follow his lead, using such buzz words as "freedom," "safety," "rights," and "mine."
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In reality, I think we should be asking Pacific Power to reduce user fees for anyone tied to the grid and highly increase usage costs for anyone using an atypical amount of energy on the higher end of the spectrum. That would be the best thing to do for everyone.