Local "Cluster" Activities

Please Contact Us about what your community or region is doing to stop light pollution, and what accomplishments you have achieved.  See the Local Ordinance page for a listing of passed or pending ordinances with web sites, if known.

There may also be counties and municipalities in Texas that have outdoor lighting regulations in place already that nobody here is aware of. The first step to getting involved is to call your city secretary or county clerk and ask them to search their records for ordinances or codes relating to outdoor lighting.

Almost all the work done in Texas to combat light pollution is done on the local level by concerned citizens, amateur astronomers, environmentalists, or property owners who simply can't sleep at night. These "Clusters" are vital to the continued success of our efforts to promote effective outdoor lighting. Many amateur astronomy clubs in Texas are members of IDA and Texas IDA, and generally have a contact person who is their "dark-sky representative." These individuals are also a valuable go-to person who are knowledgeable about the light pollution issue and what is happening to control it in your community.

If you are a Texas IDA member and would like to work with other IDA members in your area, at your request we can send you a confidential list of other members in your area. If you will serve as an area ('cluster') representative, please give us  permission to give your name and email address to other Texas IDA members and interested persons.

***update*** January 2012:

Dark-Sky Initiatives in and Around Blanco

This comes to us from Wayne Gosnell of Blanco, TX:

In the interest of sharing information you may or may not know, here's a snapshot of what's going on in and around Blanco in terms of dark sky preservation.

Here are two recent articles from the Blanco County News. 

Blanco DQ Installs Light Shields
http://www.blanconews.com/news/101231/

Stars in the Park a Stellar Success
http://www.blanconews.com/news/101476/

Preservation of the nighttime sky is a part of the Blanco Historic Preservation Action Plan and many citizens are actively engaged in dark sky initiatives, some of which are as follows.  Using a Unihedron Sky Quality meter, we have been taking Blanco dark sky readings since 2007 and now have a statistical baseline from which to measure progress (or lack thereof).  We are engaged in an on-going, dark sky awareness public education campaign with periodic newspaper articles and presentations to local groups.  We have developed a Dark Sky Preservation PowerPoint presentation (http://www.blancoguide.com/lighting/) (now being updated) and have presented it to various civic and local government groups. The Old Blanco County Courthouse Preservation Society made sure the new "old timey looking" lights they installed on the courthouse grounds were night sky friendly. We hope to make our Stars in the Park program (see article above) at Blanco State Park a regular quarterly event for the benefit of both tourists and local citizens.  In Blanco, we have a very basic but "not bad" Outdoor Lighting Ordinance that prohibits lights that shine above the horizon or off the property (it came into effect in Feb 2006 but, unfortunately, had no "sunset clause" on grandfathered lighting).  We are tackling aberrant outdoor lighting in and around the city one light at a time, thus far using light shields purchased and installed by private citizens.   Needless to say, we are blessed with many dedicated volunteers who pull all this off.  Nevertheless, we still have a long ways to go.

We currently are working with the Blanco Chamber of Commerce to initiate a voluntary "Dark Sky Friendly Business" Recognition Program.  We hope to bring this to fruition in the near future and see good potential to generate a "band wagon" effect within the business community for night sky preservation as well as a way to market Blanco as a "dark sky destination" for tourists and potential residents alike.  Will let you know how it goes.

The new Stripes Service Station in Johnson City reportedly will be dark sky friendly (our source cites the on-site Stripes engineer there for this information).  The Stripes station in Blanco is still a "light bomb" but we have assurances from their parent company (Susser, Inc) that they will address our citizen "concerns" by the end of the year (we're waiting).

Nearby, Pedernales Falls State Park has a terrific dark sky-related initiative going on, construction of a 150 seat "Star Theater" with provisions for both solar observations (tracking the noon sun with a 20' obelisk), marking the solstices etc. with standing stones, and observing the night sky with a computer controlled telescope whose image will be shown to the live audience on a large projection screen while it is streamed on the internet.  Pretty neat stuff!  Obviously, having a dark sky will be essential to the success of this project.

We are eager to learn what others are doing in terms of night sky preservation, light pollution abatement efforts, and public education thereof.  Let's keep sharing information amongst ourselves and be ever diligent in developing innovative ways to take the Dark Sky initiative forward throughout the Hill Country!

Updates on the Dark-Sky Efforts in Fayette County

Our friend Chris Westall from the Colorado Valley Dark-Sky Explorers sends us the following update:

Here's the latest happenings in Fayette County:

(1)  Fayette County Dark-Sky Initiative launched Oct. 22-23 (article attached);

(2)  La Grange City Council passes Resolution Dec. 12 (see Local Ordinances);

(3)  Fayette County Tourism Initiative to emphasize promoting Fayette County as a dark-sky ecotourism destination to enhance both economic development and preservation efforts; and

(4)  Attended AAS sponsored Workshop "Protecting Our Dark Skies" on Jan. 8 with Bill Wren, Cindy Luongo, Wayne Gosnell, Stephen Bosbach and others; had a good exchange of ideas and plans for future strategizing.

Fayette County Record News article (October 11, 2011):

March 2011: City of Blanco

Update on the lighting ordinance passage in Blanco:

"Wayne Gosnell, who has worked on maintaining the rural character of Blanco through the Dark Skies program since 2006, called the lighting ordinance "a milestone." He reminded council that preserving dark skies has been a top priority of citizens in developing the Comprehensive Master Plan. He pointed out that outdoor lighting standards are an economic issue. "Our nighttime skies can be leveraged for economic development," he continued, in such programs as "Stars in the Park," which bring people to Blanco to view the night skies, eat in restaurants, and spend money. Blanco could also be designated as a "Dark Sky City" by the International Dark Sky Association, which would allow merchants to use a special logo on their advertising materials. He cautioned against moving too fast, saying that the ordinance must be reviewed by Code Compliance Officer Pete McKinney and Public Works Director Nathan Cantrell. Blanco Historic Commission chair and Keep Blanco Beautiful spokesperson Retta Martin reiterated that the lighting ordinance is a top priority in Blanco’s design guidelines. She also reminded city council members of the citywide Trash-Off April 2, at which citizens will clean the riverbanks and road easements. Hotdogs will be served to volunteers following the cleanup. The city yard will not be open for dropping off debris this year; however there will be a countywide Hazardous Waste Day April 16 at the transfer station south of Johnson City."

http://www.blanconews.com/news/100035/

January 2010: City of Alpine

Last night the Alpine City Council approved $25976 of SECO funds (now a total of $43003 of SECO funds is being allocated to Alpine) to convert ALL the city street lights that are not HPS full cut-off fixtures (MV, LPS and HPS) to 75 watt HPS full cut-off fixtures.  $5000 in additional funding is approved for the LED test lights within the city. The City Manager is looking at whether the remaining SECO funds ($12027) could be used to replace privately owned MV and other non full-cut-off security light fixtures to full cut-off HPS fixtures.

We are requesting that several of the LED manufacturers also submit proposals.

This is great for Dark Skies!

April 2008:  City of Marfa

January 2005:   The Fort Bend County  lighting ordinance is serving as a model now for local municipalities in FBC, and is being submitted to Brazoria County Commissioners in much the same format.  A County subdivision built soon after the light ordinance was adopted, had Reliant Energy/Centerpoint install full cutoff streetlights at the specified levels; and Reliant reported back to a Ft. Bend Commissioner  that they were saving money. The commissioner said recently that he hasn't received any complaints and that he wouldn't change any wording for our submission of the light ordinance to Brazoria County.

February 2005:    Outdoor Lighting Ordinance Passed in El Paso on February 8, 2005.  IDA member John Peterson, the Director of El Paso's Gene Roddenberry Planetarium, and Corey Stone, President of the El Paso Astronomy Club have been working since at least 1992 to build public support for an outdoor lighting ordinance.  For more than five years they have negotiated with commercial and private parties, and city planning and zoning,  to create an acceptable ordinance.  At last the City Council voted favorably on the final version, which requires future lighting  in town to be shielded. The ordinance goes into effect in 90 days, and includes a 'sunset' provision to require general compliance by the end of 10 years. There were no opposition speakers, and only one council person voted against it.   
 
El Paso, population 564,000,  is the first  major city in Texas to have a separate code to regulate outdoor lighting.  Mr. Peterson said that their efforts to increase public awareness through talks to neighborhood associations and other groups made a huge difference in gaining public support.  Corey Stone of the El Paso Astronomy Club said the comment they heard the most was, "This just makes so much sense".