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Could SLO County town become next in CA to protect its night sky? Here’s what it would take

Updated: 23-10-2024, 09.21 PM

One blessing of living on or visiting the Central Coast is that, in many places, people still can see and photograph dark night skies liberally sprinkled with planets, stars, the Milky Way and even an occasional comet.

A group in Cambria has been working for nine years to preserve and enhance those views from the small coastal town.

The Dark Skies Initiative committee wants to certify Cambria as an official dark-sky community, as codified by the DarkSky International nonprofit.

The International Dark Sky Places program is an independent, third-party review and certification of outstanding dark sky conditions and protection practices. Over 200 places around the world, including Borrego Springs and Julian in California, have been certified since 2001, according to the program’s website.

Simply put, Dark Skies communities adopt quality outdoor lighting ordinances and educate residents about the importance of dark skies.

If that sounds simple, it’s not.

If the committee succeeds, Cambria would be the third such community in the state to hold that Dark Skies designation, and the first along the state’s coast, initiative founder Claudia Harmon Worthen said at an informational event Oct. 12.

A few shops on Main Street in Cambria. The Dark Skies Initiative committee wants to certify Cambria as an official dark-sky community. Cambria has been working for nine years to preserve and enhance those views from the small coastal town.A few shops on Main Street in Cambria. The Dark Skies Initiative committee wants to certify Cambria as an official dark-sky community. Cambria has been working for nine years to preserve and enhance those views from the small coastal town.

A few shops on Main Street in Cambria. The Dark Skies Initiative committee wants to certify Cambria as an official dark-sky community. Cambria has been working for nine years to preserve and enhance those views from the small coastal town.

Dark skies are on the county’s priority list, but not at the top

A current stumbling block toward that happening is getting officials to update the county lighting code to include night sky protections.

The changes are on county’s list of priorities, she said, but they were demoted to second-tier importance in October 2023.

“I totally see the benefit,” Supervisor Bruce Gibson said Monday. “There’s a lot of good there, but it’s a staff and timing issue.”

Blake Fixler, Gibson’s legislative described the process as “complicated,” noting there are state mandates that the county are required to do.

“A lot of the other things we may have wanted to do have taken a backseat,” Fixler said. “Local government then has to prioritize within our staff and budget capacity what discretionary work gets done first.”

The county’s 18-month priority list for 2024-25 included things like the Los Osos Community Plan, Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan, local coastal plan amendments to the density bonus and agricultural worker housing, updates to the county-wide housing policy, and some other minor ordinance cleanup.

“These also align with the supervisors’ budget priorities, namely housing and economic development,” he said. “The good news is that most of those Tier 1 projects either have been done already or are on track to be done by the end of this year.”

Bob and Jan’s Bottle Shop on Main Street in Cambria. The Dark Skies Initiative committee wants to certify Cambria as an official dark-sky community. Cambria has been working for nine years to preserve and enhance those views from the small coastal town.Bob and Jan’s Bottle Shop on Main Street in Cambria. The Dark Skies Initiative committee wants to certify Cambria as an official dark-sky community. Cambria has been working for nine years to preserve and enhance those views from the small coastal town.

Bob and Jan’s Bottle Shop on Main Street in Cambria. The Dark Skies Initiative committee wants to certify Cambria as an official dark-sky community. Cambria has been working for nine years to preserve and enhance those views from the small coastal town.

Staffers in the county’s planning and building department — including Cory Hahn, the county’s long-range division manager, and his planning team — are already working on a status report about the 2024-25 list.

They’re tentatively set to present that to the supervisors in December, as well as the teams’ next recommended list of priorities for 2025-26.

For the dark skies issue, it’s not just a matter of changing one or two lines in the codes, however.

“My understanding from talking with the Cambria Dark Skies community over the years is that there were multiple changes that would need to be made to the lighting code to achieve dark skies certification,” Fixler said. “The changes in terminology in our codes from watts to lumens was a part of that, but their requirements for certification also included language pertaining to ‘light trespass’ or light going from one property to another, street-light installation, security lighting (and) free-standing fixtures, among others.”

With or without changes to the county lighting code and Cambria being awarded the dark-skies designation, achieving the desired reduction in night-sky pollution won’t be easy or simple, given the town’s many tourist-oriented and other businesses, which tend to leave signs and lights lit longer and often through the night.

Parking areas, schools and other structures have overnight security lighting. Some homes, too, disrupt the dark sky with motion-sensor lights and other security systems that use lighting to deter crime and critters like trash-can-dumping raccoons.

Fixtures that spread light upward and those that emit blueish-white light are among the worst offenders, scientists said at the forum.

Sivani Babu of Santa Barbara was one of the presenters at a “Future of the Night” program by Cambria’s Dark Skies Initiative committee on Oct. 12, 2024. The group has been working for nine years toward achieving official dark-skies community status for Cambria.Sivani Babu of Santa Barbara was one of the presenters at a “Future of the Night” program by Cambria’s Dark Skies Initiative committee on Oct. 12, 2024. The group has been working for nine years toward achieving official dark-skies community status for Cambria.

Sivani Babu of Santa Barbara was one of the presenters at a “Future of the Night” program by Cambria’s Dark Skies Initiative committee on Oct. 12, 2024. The group has been working for nine years toward achieving official dark-skies community status for Cambria.

What are some ways residents can help Cambria become dark sky friendly?

While light-polluted night skies seem ubiquitous and unfixable, small changes made by individuals can go a long way toward reducing the problem, explorer and award-winning photographer Sivani Babu said during her presentation at the forum.

For instance, reducing “wasted light” is a good start.

“Wasted light is lighting that’s on where there’s nobody around to see it,” Babu said.

There are some easy ways for people to protect Cambria’s dark night sky and help it become dark sky friendly.

It starts with having businesses and residents adopt responsible outdoor lighting practices.

According to the Dark Sky International nonprofit, to be dark-sky friendly, artificial light must be useful but shielded and pointed downward to prevent it from spilling beyond where it is required. It should be no brighter than necessary and warm in color.

Ideally, outdoor lights would be controlled by timers and motion detectors so that they are only on when people need them.

People should consider how the use of light will impact the area, including wildlife and their habitats.

Frank Widmann, astronomer and astrophotographer, uses this  complicated setup to take detailed photos  of deep space. His “studio” is the deck of his Cambria home.Frank Widmann, astronomer and astrophotographer, uses this  complicated setup to take detailed photos  of deep space. His “studio” is the deck of his Cambria home.

Frank Widmann, astronomer and astrophotographer, uses this complicated setup to take detailed photos of deep space. His “studio” is the deck of his Cambria home.

Some consider dark night skies to be a cherished heritage to be protected

Astronomer Frank Widmann, who did a presentation of his deep-space photos at the forum, worries “light pollution is destroying part of mankind’s heritage — the awe-inspiring beauty of dark skies.

“People move to beautiful places like Cambria drawn to the natural beauty, but they bring bad habits with them that gradually destroy the very beauty they want to enjoy,” Widmann said. “Outdoor lighting is not a decoration. It is literally an eyesore that intrudes on the space and the enjoyment of others.”

He urged people to consider how necessary the lights they use are.

“If you need a light to see something, fine, but if you are not using it, be considerate and turn the light off,” he said.

This includes residential street lighting, which he described as “another unnecessary and wasteful atrocity” because of the glare they produce, which makes it harder for people to see at night. He added that the blue light from these types of lighting can also interfere with the body’s natural production of melatonin and make it ‘harder to get a good night’s sleep.”

“The effects of pollution are gradual and cumulative,” he said. “It is easy to ignore them until it is too late. Now is the time to become aware and fight back. Our children will thank us.”

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