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Douglas, Elbert counties join growing movement to keep bright lights from polluting the sky

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

The sky is the limit for the metro area's latest growth battle.

Colorado astronomers, rural residents and community planners are trying to reclaim the once-dark skies from the ever-spreading bright lights of the city.

As the area grows, they say light pollution is blotting out the stars, "trespassing" across property lines and robbing folks of a natural resource they take for granted: the dark of night.

So in coming months they plan to wage a sort of "star wars" on many fronts, hoping to get the public to look on the dark side.

In Douglas and Elbert counties, planners will consider new lighting ordinances to control Las Vegas-like lighting on new commercial projects. In the state legislature, the Denver Astronomical Society will push for legislation forcing government agencies to set a good example by keeping their own lighting under control. And statewide, activists hope to convince people that saving the star-filled skies is like protecting open space here on Earth.

"We haven't educated people that throwing light where it isn't needed or wanted is a type of trash problem," said Robert Stencel, a University of Denver astronomy professor who laments the dome of light that now envelops the metro area at night.

This week, the Denver Astronomical Society won approval from Arapahoe County officials to improve a new "dark sky" stargazing site near Deer Trail -- an hour's drive from downtown Denver.

It's a sign of the times, Stencel said, as city lights shrink the size of the universe visible from the city and its booming suburbs.

"Here we are having to flee to the edges of civilization," Stencel said, sitting one bright night inside the Chamberlin Observatory in Denver. Even the observatory's 20-inch refractor telescope can see only a fraction of what it could a few decades ago.

"We think it robs kids of a source of imagination and creativity," Stencel said. "We're just painting this gray pall over the city."

Astronomers are looking for a legislator to sponsor a bill similar to one just signed into law by Gov. George W. Bush in Texas. It would impose strict lighting guidelines on state government projects.

The idea is to keep lights directed toward the ground, where lighting is needed. Many traditional fixtures cast light in many directions, including a good portion toward the sky. By shielding lights or receding bulbs into their fixtures, light can be directed only where it is needed, reducing energy waste, said Jerry Sherlin, an amateur astronomer and Colorado Coordinator for the International Dark-Sky Association.

"Every bit of light shined up to space is totally wasted," Sherlin said.

Lighting regulations for private development would remain in the hands of local counties and municipalities. With growth, more communities are becoming aware of the issue, said Nancy Clanton of Boulder, a lighting engineer who has helped several communities rewrite laws.

"I've been calling it the Year of the Lighting Ordinance," Clanton said.

Although astronomers are behind the statewide efforts, local officials look at the issue a bit differently. For them, the issue is usually over the bright lights of a new commercial building "trespassing" into nearby neighborhoods and infuriating residents.

"You can go to every community, and there was one project that pushed the community over the edge," Clanton said.

In Eagle it was a brightly lit gas station. In Alma, it was a new fire station. And in Douglas County a few years ago, it was the ironically named Incredible Universe store that got planners thinking about saving the stars.

"My background is in design, and I felt the county had moved in a direction that was positive with commercial site design," said Peter Italiano, assistant community development director. "But the nightscape was being left out."

The county worked with the developer to implement new lighting standards, and in 2000, planners hope to come up with a new ordinance containing flexible regulations that protect the sky, Italiano said.

Last year, Elizabeth imposed a strict lighting ordinance, and Terry Chatterton, co-founder of the private Kiowa Observatory, said he'll push for a countywide version in January.

"This state is very big on private property rights," said Chatterton, a handyman and amateur astronomer. "If you want to light your own property, fine, but don't light mine."

Even the tiny mountain town of Alma enacted a strict lighting ordinance earlier this year. Mayor Bob Ensign said it was a reaction to the growing "light domes" around Denver and nearby resort towns.

"We can see what's coming down the pike," Ensign said. "Light pollution is one of those kinds of pollution you can actually do something about."

November 21, 1999