Lighting Ordinance – What’s next?

Will the Planning Commission punt, pass or kick?

Town Hall parking lot - a fine example to us all - NOT

By Will Collette

The March 12 Town Council discussion about how to protect Charlestown’s dark sky from excess lighting was pretty gut-wrenching. Most speakers paid homage to the beauty of our night-time sky, but voiced far-ranging views about what we need to do to protect it. It was clear that this issue struck a nerve in Charlestown public opinion.

That discussion took place as part of a public hearing on Ordinance 347, a draft that had been crafted by the Planning Commission despite strong objections from the business community and reservations from other town officials and town commissions.

The Planning Commission itself had announced its intention prior to the meeting to come forward with a series of proposed amendments that essentially struck out most of the controversial sections of the draft ordinance. But those amendments could not be enacted without pulling the ordinance, re-writing it, re-advertising it and holding another public hearing.

So going in to the March 12 public hearing discussion, we all knew it was going to be a mess.

Dr. Lew Johnson, who is probably Charlestown’s best known, long-time champion for dark sky protection, made an impassioned plea for a reasonable approach that unites the community to move forward.

Out of respect for Dr. Johnson, and in recognition that our night-time sky really is a treasure, nearly every speaker tried to make it clear that we need to do something to preserve that asset.

So what is the something?

Planning Commissar Ruth Platner was sent back with two main options. One option is to rewrite the ordinance.

Compare Charlestown Liquor's parking lot to town hall

The other is to do what should have been done in the first place. Begin consulting with the other Town Commissions, with town businesses and with citizens, rather than acting as if the Planning Commission was a quasi-legislative body (which it is not under the Town Charter).

But there is a third option, which is to stop thinking about dark sky protection as a purely legislative issue. As Platner has often said, the town zoning ordinances already cover commercial property and new developments. The authority already exists – and has been used, with Cumberland Farms, Arrowhead Dental, Pat’s Power and Charlestown Wine and Spirits as good examples – with very good results.

Simple, inexpensive, dark-sky friendly

Residences are not covered under Charlestown law, nor will they be under the amendments Platner has said she wants to make to the draft ordinance.

Government facilities – town, state and federal – are not covered under existing law unless they go through site review with the Commission. But does the town need a new law to make itself comply? And can Charlestown law compel the state or federal government to comply? Our Town Council leaders’ recent display of deference to the federal Interior Department makes it seem unlikely that we will try to make the feds do anything.

At one point, the Planning Commission, urged on by the sky-watchers at the Frosty Drew Observatory, argued Charlestown needs a new dark sky ordinance so it can be used to somehow convince South Kingstown and Westerly to do the same.

They never explained why either town would change their laws just to please the sky-watchers at Frosty Drew. I think it’s unlikely that Westerly or South Kingstown will change their laws unless they see it as in their self-interest. And both towns have chosen different development paths than Charlestown.

Perhaps we simply need a few tweaks to the existing ordinances to make certain new construction and major electrical renovations are covered under existing dark sky provisions.

Parshield for a retrofit - snaps right over standard
floodlight bulbs while bulbs still screwed in

Then, let’s start a program of public education to promote a town-wide Good Neighbor approach to the problem. Town Council Boss Tom Gentz is a big fan of Parshields®, inexpensive, easy-to-install floodlight hoods that he bought for his home at $15 each ($30 a pair).

I think Parshields® are great, and I have them on all of my outdoor floodlights. They work well and they are very easy to install. When I say “easy to install,” I say this as a person who thinks the three most dreaded words in the English language are “some assembly required.”

You can get Parshields® for a lot cheaper than Boss Gentz paid for them from the Energy Federation, a Massachusetts nonprofit that sells a wide range of energy-saving and dark-sky-friendly equipment. Boss Gentz paid $30 a pair for his Parshields®. I paid $17.50 a pair to the Energy Federation.

Ruth wants her regs

And when I spoke with them, they told me they would be glad to work with Charlestown to set up either a wholesale purchase or a group discount.

The town can take some simple steps to get the word out about how you can be a Good Neighbor and go dark sky friendly. They can line up discounts for supplies from vendors. The town might even get some help from the state or from National Grid. The state uses its profits from its participation in the northeast regional compact that auctions off carbon credits to fund energy-saving programs. Charlestown should try to get a piece of that.

The Town can publicize Dark Sky Good Neighbors and “shine a spotlight” on bad neighbors.

But if the Planning Commission persists in thinking that only it knows what is best for Charlestown and that it must use its imaginary authority under the Town Charter to legislate every problem away – by regulating in minute detail – we will have a repeat of the March 12 disaster.