Dark sky code returns to Wasatch County Council, but is it ready to become law?

The debate over Heber Valley dark skies has heated up ever since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints requested an outdoor lighting code change in November. That request came a little more than a month after the Church held a groundbreaking ceremony for a temple near Heber City.

County staff responded to the Church’s request by drafting a code update they said would prevent light pollution more effectively than the Church’s proposal.

A public hearing at the April 5 county council meeting drew more than 200 people to discuss the options.

The council didn’t vote to make any changes at the meeting and instead asked for a more detailed review. Since then, staff have prepared more options, according to County Manager Dustin Grabau.

Grabau said the council might vote to codify the new set of rules at their meeting Wednesday, but some of the concerns council members raised at the public hearing would require more time to flesh out.

“I won't be surprised if they do adopt the code with some of the minor changes that staff have recommended,” he said, “but if they do decide to incorporate more comprehensive changes, like residential lighting restrictions or other things, then, obviously, we wouldn't be able to do that on Wednesday.”

Some of the changes that could take more time include different lighting rules for commercial zones versus residential zones.

Grabau said the council might also want to take more time to consider height-specific requirements or exemptions during holidays. One new detail staff will recommend Wednesday would require lights out one hour after sunset. Or, businesses would have to turn them off one hour after they close — whichever comes later.

Lights could also shine upward in the latest version of the proposed update. Under current code, “up lighting” is not allowed.

According to John Barentine, a dark skies expert the county hired as a consultant to help draft the code, up lighting is not incompatible with dark skies.

But his testimony did not convince dozens of dissenters who held up signs at the public hearing that read, “Say ‘no’ to up lighting.”

Resident Renee Waas said even though the expert said the amendment the county proposed could prevent light pollution, she wasn’t satisfied.

“Although he was quoted at the last council meeting last week that adoption of the ordinance would make Wasatch County one of the most progressive counties in the country, what I would say is that this ordinance could be so much stronger,” Waas said. “I would like lighting zones established, no up lighting allowed, and all light to be included in the total lumen count per developed acre.”

Waas belongs to a resident group called “Save Wasatch Back Dark Skies.” She hopes the council will delay the final decision and let the group join the planning discussion.

Lisa Meisner is also a dark-sky advocate. She said she and others feel the county has misled them during the public process.

She accused the county of withholding public records group members requested about the planning process. She said after people voiced their displeasure at the public hearing, they received documents the next day.

Grabau called it “regrettable” that county offices didn’t send the documents before the meeting but said there was no intent to withhold information. He said it could have been a symptom of the clerk’s office losing two employees recently. He said there were also delays fulfilling other GRAMA requests as of late.

The documents showed Barentine had originally suggested stricter dark sky rules than what county staff eventually proposed. Meisner said that’s what the county should require.

“Most other areas that have dark sky ordinances do not allow up lighting, and I believe it's going to be very, very difficult to enforce county-wide,” Meisner said. “So, I think we're setting ourselves up for a problem and for having a lot more light pollution in the future if we move forward with these proposals on a county-wide basis.”

Meisner and Waas agreed their dark skies group does not oppose the LDS Church or the temple project itself — just ideas that lead to light pollution.

Grabau said county staff share the goal to preserve dark skies.

He said even though planners didn’t follow Barentine’s strictest recommendations, his input guided the draft they eventually proposed.

“We naturally started with a very conservative recommendation from Dr. Barentine of, what would he recommend as a conservative dark sky recommendation? And then, the council subcommittee used that as an information point on, what do we think is right for our community?” Grabau said. “There are communities that have more strict lighting requirements, but we don't think that those most strict requirements fit the needs of our community. And so what we have proposed, I think we're very proud of, and we're happy to answer questions about how we arrived at the numbers we did.”

Barentine did not respond to KPCW’s request for comment, and neither did the LDS Church’s media relations office.

The county council will meet Wednesday at the Wasatch County Administration Building at 25 North Main Street in Heber City.

The county agenda webpage is available at this link.