Malibu will soon be cracking down on excessive residential and commercial lighting in an effort to open up the night sky for locals and visitors to enjoy.
A proposed ordinance would have property owners shopping for new fixtures that comply with various requirements, including shielding, intensity, hours of operation and direction of light. Residential lighting requirements would set a curfew for outdoor lighting of 11 p.m., unless people are present in exterior areas and using the lights. All outdoor fixtures must be fully shielded (facing the ground) and shall be mounted no higher than 18 feet above ground level. In homes adjacent to natural areas, lights should be directed away from environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA).
Limits for holiday lighting in both residential and commercial areas allow “seasonal lighting” to be used only from Nov. 15 – Jan. 15.
For nearly two decades, the city has worked to limit outdoor lighting in an effort to cut back on light pollution in Malibu, but an official ordinance has been a long time coming. The city is now digging in, having scheduled a dark sky tour on Tuesday, June 6, followed by a public workshop the following day.
At the workshop on the proposed ordinance on Wednesday, June 7, members of the public came to propose modifications to the ordinance, including specifications for houses along PCH, glass houses, curfews and more.
None of the specifications in the proposed ordinance deal with indoor lighting, which activist Carol Moss pointed out at the meeting.
“I … think people who live in glass houses — there may be some minimal things you can do,” Moss suggested. “I would like to see … you know that there’s warm lighting instead of this white lighting that’s out, or maybe there’s some way the glass can be tinted.”
Moss also suggested that the proposed five-year timetable for coming into compliance was overly lenient.
“I think five years is far too long,” Moss asserted. “For residences, if they’re not in compliance, they can just shut off all the lights. I don’t think light fixtures cost that much.
“As far as commercial lighting, it’s just the cost of doing business,” she continued. “I would think two years, with a possible one-year extension, would be enough.”
The meeting was attended by Pete Strasser, technical advisor to the Dark-Sky Association and lighting engineer Jim Benya, as well as officials from Malibu City Council and Planning Commission.
No one who came to speak Wednesday was in opposition to the ordinance, though Planning Commissioner Jeffrey Jennings mentioned enforcement could be a challenge in a city as spread out as Malibu.
“I worry about enforceability. I worry about passing ordinances that we can’t or don’t really intend to have the ability to enforce,” Jennings said. Upon being assured enforcement was possible because the city would be purchasing light meters to measure output on properties, he conceded: “If you’re going to be sending jackbooted sheriff’s deputies around telling people to turn off their lights, I guess that solves that enforceability problem. You may have a political ramification that you might want to think about, but as far as enforceability is concerned, it sounds like you’ve solved the problem.”
According to a staff report for the workshop, the dark sky ordinance is now on its way toward a final draft.
“In the months following the tour/workshop, the Planning Commission and City Council will hold public hearings regarding the dark sky ordinance,” the report specified. “Following adoption of a dark sky ordinance, a community workshop will be held and information materials will be made available to the public to assist property owners with updating their lighting to meet the standards.”