Dobbins JLUS IMP Public Draft Light Pollution Study | Page 78
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Requires a certification from an engineer that any lighting permanently
operated meets the outdoor lighting standards
Naval Air Facility El Centro (NAFEC). A recently completed JLUS identified that this
California installation and the nearby communities (Imperial County and the cities of Imperial and
El Centro) are not subject to dark-sky ordinances. The JLUS identified possible impacts from
future light pollution and remedies. They include but are not limited to the following:
Light and Glare can be generated by both military and civilian uses. Light and glare from
commercial lighting affects nighttime military operations Ǧ both ground and air training
exercises. New commercial development can employ un Ǧ shielded, or non Ǧ cutoff lighting
producing ambient urban sky glow which degrades the effectiveness of night vision devices
used to train in realistic, combat environments. Certain types of alternative energy
development can create glare for pilots in training, posing a safety hazard to the pilot and the
aircraft. The following Light and Glare issues were identified:
Imperial County and the cities of El Centro and Imperial do not have dark sky
ordinances.
Alternative energy projects that create excessive light and/or glare conditions.
Screening / downward lighting requirements in new construction and street lighting.
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The purpose of the requirements within this section is to balance the safety and
security needs for lighting with the city's desire to preserve dark skies and to ensure
that light trespass and glare have negligible impact on surrounding property
(especially residential) and roadways;
Requires a lighting plan for “fueling stations, apartment complexes and uses with
parking lots that contain more than one hundred (100) spaces.”; and
Requires all outdoor lights be fully shielded to accomplish no direct lighting on
adjacent roadways or residential properties utilizing a graphic depiction.
Davis Monthan AFB. Located in the Tucson area of southern Arizona, this installation
completed a JLUS in 2007; however, the study did not address light pollution. This is likely due
to the extensive regulation that has been developed in Arizona to protect the astronomical
observatories, especially in southern Arizona where Davis-Monthan AFB is located. Pima County
and the City of Tucson have significant regulation that attempts to protect the dark skies of the
area; it does not use the night training efforts at the base as one of the justifications for the
regulations. The regulation is included in Appendix A. The regulations are unique in that while
they extensively regulate night l ighting, they do not use a property boundary “trespass”
measurement but instead focus on the maximum amount of light measured in lumens that can be
developed by a site and requires full cutoff fixtures. Some of the features of this ordinance
include:
Controls for OHV lighting in recreational areas adjacent or proximate to NAFEC
ranges
The sitting of exterior lighting structures within the approach and departure zone of
the NAFEC MCAOD Vertical Obstruction Subzone
The use of LED billboards
Require all lighting be limited to downward lighting that is shielded within the
NAFEC MCAOD and the MCDCA. 17
Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore. Located in Kings and Fresno counties of California, a JLUS
was completed on this installation in 2011. The JLUS identifies nighttime light and glare as
possible impacts on night training operations. There are three jurisdictions identified: Kings and
Fresno counties and the City of Lemoore. The recommendations are the same for all three - to
implement lighting standards in flight zones to eliminate glare and reflection. 18
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The City of Lemoore restricts outdoor lighting in its zoning code as follows:
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Develop Dark Sky Lighting Ordinance - Imperial County, the cities of El Centro and
Imperial, and BLM should develop a dark sky lighting ordinance / requirements
delineating the types of lighting fixtures, lumens, and timers for lights. This shall include
requirements for downward directional, shielded, or fullyǦcutoff lighting in new
construction and street lights. This should include:
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Fresno County zoning requires all parking areas to be shielded to not cause a nuisance for
roads or adjacent properties
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The following recommendations were identified. The report has been accepted and supported by
resolution from the county, but these recommendations have not yet been implemented.
Kings County zoning requires site plans address the following: “Proposed lighting is so
arranged as to reflect the light away from adjoining properties.”
Concern about light and glare near all ranges.
Kings County has established the following statement in its Land Use Policy D1.3.4:
“Preserve the existing nighttime environment by limiting the illumination of areas
surrounding new development. New lighting that is part of residential, commercial,
industrial, or recreational development shall be oriented away from sensitive uses, and
should be hooded, shielded, and located to direct light pools downward and prevent
glare.”
identifies geographic areas with differing characteristics and sets of regulation;
requires submittal of a professionally prepared plan;
establishes maximum lumens that can be developed for each use; and
requires all fixtures be fully shielded.
NAS Corpus Christi. The NAS Corpus Christi JLUS was completed in June of 2013 and
identifies light pollution as an increasing risk to the operation at the airfields associated with
military operations as urbanizing uses expand near the airfields. The study recognizes that the
Unified Development Code of Corpus Christi has a specific zone associated with the military air
operations impact area (6.5 Air Installation Compatible Use Zones); however, the zone does not
regulate lighting. The JLUS recommendations include the following.
El Centro Joint Land Use Study, June 2014
NAS Lemoore Joint Land Use Study, Final Release, August 2011
Page A- 10
Appendix A:
White Paper – Communities Addressing Light Pollution that Affect Nighttime Military Training