|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
VIDEO. From the Midcoast Community Council (MCC) meeting on Wednesday, July 12th, 2023 at 7:00pm as a hybrid meeting.
Actionable science to manage coastal nightscapes Dr. Travis Longcore (MCC Dan Haggerty).
Minutes from 7/12/2024 meeting.
Agenda Item A. Ecological Effects of Light Pollution: Actionable science to manage coastal lightscapes.
Dr. Travis Longcore, Adjunct Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, gave a presentation about light pollution, the effects of artificial night lighting on wildlife and human health, and ways to reduce its impact on the environment.
Dr. Longcore addressed the following points in response to questions from the public:
● When encountering challenges in helping local governments understand the issue, he suggested talking with planning staff or reaching out to those who are interested, engaging advocacy groups, being part of the team that does the planning, sharing information and leveraging the Dark Sky community and DarkSky International’s resources, and doing the work to educate on a project-by-project basis.
● There are lighting engineers who can show how to make these changes and meet code. There are also Networks of manufacturers that can work with communities to find the right lighting.
● Become involved during the planning process and intervene early in the design process, which usually doesn’t increase costs; retrofitting is harder.
● There are best practices that can be promoted locally and he will forward these.
● Both approaches to regulation for municipal lighting and lighting on private property are needed.
● There are ways to balance wildlife and safety issues. Motion detectors are preferred over timers. “Clearview red” lighting is wildlife friendly and least damaging.
● Research on unlighted versus lighted university campus areas shows that darker spaces inhibit criminal activity; intruders need light and it can be seen easily in a dark space. Bright lights also create more shadows and places to hide from view.
● Crime studies generally are inconclusive as to whether more light reduces crime.
● Government can legislate for screens to reduce light from greenhouses at night.
● There is a large variation (~50 fold difference) in human sight sensitivity; some people are more sensitive than others to brightness, ability to detect flicker, and hormonal cycles triggered by light.
Comments/Questions:
1) Steve Terry commented on the challenges of working with local government planning and building entities and asked how to approach helping local governments understand the issue.
2) Edmundo Larenas commented on the negative impacts of high-intensity lights in Pillar Point Harbor on seasonal roosting pelicans. He asked the MCC to help address new excessive lighting installed by the County in Moss Beach neighborhoods.
3) Melinda MacNaughton wants San Mateo County and the Harbor District to be open to making changes to address these issues.
4) Mary-Anne Giglio raised the issue of lighting on private property, and how to address people’s concerns about security.
5) Natalie Downe supports dark skies on the coastside and has concerns about the plant nursery lighting in Half Moon Bay.
6) Ann Rothman asked about the studies that show increased cancer rates related to artificial light at night.
7) Gus Mattammal asked for a list of precise legislative solutions (DarkSky International has a good list).
8) Deborah Lardie submitted a written comment that was read at the meeting in support of local Dark Skies initiative efforts.
________________________________________________________________________________________
More on the MCC on Coastside Buzz
________________________________________________________________________________________
MCC Agendas, Videos and Lots and Lots of Documents!
Thanks to exMCC’s Lisa Ketcham (now on the San Mateo County Planning Commission) for an incredibly well curated website archive on local planning issues.
Link to MCC Virtual Meetings
Midcoast Community Council Website
Midcoast Community Council (MCC) is an elected Municipal Advisory Council to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, representing Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada, Princeton, and Miramar.
Regular MCC meetings are on the 2nd & 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM at Granada Community Services District (GCSD) meeting room, 504 Ave Alhambra, third floor, El Granada. All MCC meetings are open to the public, and are agendized and posted according to the requirements of the Brown Act.
Agenda item supporting documents are available 72 hours in advance of meetings on http://www.MidcoastCommunityCouncil.org.
Minutes from previous meetings on http://www.midcoastcommunitycouncil.org/2017-2018/
To subscribe to MCC agendas via email, send email to [email protected]
Midcoast Community Councilmembers
MCC: [email protected]
P.O. Box 248, Moss Beach, CA 94038
Subscribe to agendas via email: Google Group-MCC-Agendas.
Gregg Dieguez, Chair – Term Ends: Dec. 2024
Phone: 650-544-0714
Email: [email protected]
Claire Toutant, Vice Chair – Term Ends: Dec. 2026
Phone: 650-676-5847
Email: [email protected]
Scott Bollinger, Secretary – Term Ends: Dec 2026
Phone: 650-773-4425
Email: [email protected]
Dan Haggerty, Treasurer – Term Ends: Dec. 2024
Phone: 650-212-6026
Email : [email protected]
Gus Mattammal, Member – Term Ends: Dec 2026
Phone: 650-451-5335
Email: [email protected]
Vacancy for term ending 2026
Vacancy for term ending 2024
Author: Coastside Buzz
Me