At the City Council meeting held on February 10th, city officials discussed the proposition of implementing a Dark Sky Ordinance. Public Works Director, Deston Dishion told the council members background onthe topic saying that, “A lot of cities across the entire world are a part of the movement to reduce light pollution in order to see the night sky.”
He went on to say that the proposed ordinance would allow for different zoning in Bishop depending on the levels of light pollution which can be tolerated.
There would be different zoning areas throughout town. The highest level of light pollution would be downtown of course, and then the further away from the center of the city, the darker the city would be.
“Zones make tons of sense to me. I am more than happy to pursue a Dark Skies Ordinance to see what the public thinks,” said council-member Karen Schwartz.
Stephan Muchovej also approved of the proposal. “I like the concept. Just like all the recreation opportunities we have in Bishop, the night sky is another big asset and a reason that tourists visit the area.”
The item will be up for further discussion and public comments.
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Empty the jails and prisons and turn off the lights. That ought to work. The lights can be a little annoying, I’ll give you that, but I like the security in this day and age.
Simple solution for security is motion detection which would only use the light when actually needed.
During the early 70’s, I worked in the summer for Sequoia Kings pack station, guiding kids from S. California into the backcountry on burro/walking trips to Bubb’s Creek. On my first guide trip, I was stunned to hear some questions from these 5 to 14 year old inner city children (I’d grown up in small towns, San Luis Obisbo / June Lake in the 50’s), questions such as, “who planted all the flowers?”…but most of all…”what are all those lights in the sky” ? …. These inner city poorer kids had only been able to see the Sun…and Moon;…everything else was washed out.
Also, a number of years back after KMart and Vons parking lot moved to town, I was called to help a new homeowner in town, fix the electronics on a Cave 16″ Newtonian telescope that was part of the purchase…a resident of Rocking K; It was evident that looking east towards Bishop was a waste of time…light pollution. It didn’t use to be this way, now the nighttime glow from the city is evident from Grandview Campground in the White Mtns. As an avid amateur astronomer I strongly support efforts to keep our skies dark and wild…as natural as possible. It is an important invaluable part of life’s experiences. I want kids everywhere to know what stars look like by the time they are 2.years of age…..
This is a great idea!!!!! Now how about the noise pollution from the unnecessary sirens we have to tolerate in the middle of the night?
Great. Now the Liberals are ruining Bishop. What’s next. A ban on hunting? No lead fishing sinkers? Only electric ORV’s on trails. This is just more BS.
This is not a “liberal” idea. There is nothing partisan about it. It is just a matter of good engineering, planning and thoughtful application; light pollution is nothing more then wasted lighting, thus poor use of electricity. Lighting up the sky does nothing for safe travel, cycling, pedestrian, or vehicle; nor does it do anything for crime prevention. Do you think that Tonopah, NV is a bastion of liberalism ? FYI: Tonopah has promoted the town for years now, as a dark sky tourism promotion.
Yeah Nick. Seriously! Thanks Obama.
Nick, its got nothing to do with politics, it has to do with people’s property rights and being able to see the stars at night. Do you enjoy having your neighbor blast you and your property with lights all night? I fail to see that stopping that is a liberal thing. They can light up themselves but not the night sky and the neighbors. Sounds like a liberal thing to allow people to blast their lights everywhere.
I support the dark sky idea wholeheartedly
I don’t think we can stop progress but we can manage it.
It is not as difficult as people think to have dark skies. Some things that can be done is shielding of lights, so the light does not go up or straight out into peoples eyes. One should also consider the type of bulbs and their color, and whether there is glass around the bulb. Frosted or colored glass that is translucent rather than transparent can make a big difference in the glare factor.
I have noticed there seems to be a trend in recent years of installing super bright LED lights with no shielding, which is the opposite of what should be happening. Thank goodness the city is considering an ordinance, and I hope the county is soon to follow.
Wow, what would Ben Franklin say now?????
I’m not against this at all but would be curious to hear if other areas that have tried this have had an increase in criminal activity or increased strain on law enforcement during the night hours? Although I guess you could always use motion devices that are only active when needed.
Preventing light pollution is not ridding the area of artificial lighting, its about decreasing the amount of light wasted up into the sky, redirecting ight sources in a way that is most effective for the intended need.
Fishing Day, Mammoth has a lighting policy, Mono County has a lighting policy. Dark sky does not call for elimination of lighting, just adjustments in where the light shines and the brightness. Usually a lighting policy is also going to be concerned with “light trespass”, a condition where neighboring lights light up others property and shine straight out. Not only are motion sensors available for security systems, also heat sensing motion sensors, so one is not lighting up because of branches or leaves blowing in the wind. Blinding everyone with misdirected lighting is not a necessity for security.