Whitefish group works toward darker skies

Lighting committee plans public meetings

The Daily Inter Lake

Theres a movement afoot to put the lid on night light in Whitefish.

Public meetings to discuss a proposed dark-sky initiative for the city of Whitefish will be Monday and Nov. 28. Both meetings begin at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The first public meeting will be an overview of issues related to outdoor lighting and how they affect Whitefish. The second meeting aims to solicit more specific comments from Whitefish citizens on how new regulations might affect their homes, properties and businesses.

A lighting committee was appointed some time ago by the City Council to study ways to regulate outdoor lighting in Whitefish and its 2-mile planning jurisdiction to curb light pollution.

After gathering public comments, the group will draft a set of detailed exterior lighting standards for the council to consider.

With assistance from land-use planner Lisa Horowitz, the committee spent seven months researching lighting techniques used by other cities while studying outdoor lighting in Whitefish.The committee placed an emphasis on energy savings and safe outdoor lighting and purchased a light meter to measure local light levels.

We are at a point where our research is complete and we need community input, said Horowitz of LH Land Use Consulting.

While new to Whitefish, the concept of protecting the night sky and reducing lighting energy consumption through local regulations is not new to the United States.Efforts first began in Tucson in the 1980s when local astronomers fought to protect the famous Kitt Peak Observatory from urban glow.As research grew on the topic, satellite images revealed that roughly one-third of all light used in the U.S. escapes upward into the night sky, costing roughly $1 billion annually for wasted light.

The International Dark Sky Organization was formed to help cities and towns develop regulations to protect their night skies.The organization now claims 11,000 individual members in 76 countries and all 50 states.

Bozeman and Kalispell currently have lighting ordinances. Kalispell enacted its light law this year.

The Whitefish City Council determined the issue was not only about aesthetics and energy consumption, but addresses community values and the tourism economy.

People dont come to Whitefish for an urban experience, committee chairwoman and council member Cris Coughlin said in a press release. They are here to visit a special part of Montana and to experience all of the outdoor beauty that comes with that.The night sky is a key natural resource that we need to protect.

Committee members include Horowitz, Coughlin, Don Kaltschmidt, Turner Askew, Lisa Jones, Doug Adams, Jan Metzmaker, Bob Horne and Wendy Compton-Ring.