Ten years after the start of Morongo Basin community efforts to improve the San Bernardino County lighting ordinance, the Planning Commission will hold a hearing on a revised “Light Trespass” ordinance on February 4. (Meeting details and documents can be found
here.) The revision would replace the earlier “Glare and Outdoor Lighting” section of the Development Code with updated and improved language focused on light trespass. In the Land Use Services
staff report you can read both the existing and proposed ordinances and additional background and context.
MBCA Board members and supporters have been continuously involved in dark sky initiatives for the last decade. The Morongo Basin Dark Sky Alliance (2010-2013) was the first local coalition to propose code changes, while providing educational events and a Joshua Tree porch light replacement project funded by the County. A summary of the MBDSA projects can be found here. In 2014 then-Supervisor James Ramos appointed a County Dark Sky Committee which pursued educational programs and code revisions. Following Supervisor Ramos’ election to the California Assembly in 2018, the committee was reinitiated by his appointed successor Dawn Rowe as the Third District Dark Sky Committee. This last committee successfully shepherded their concerns into the current proposed ordinance with the support of Supervisor Rowe, recently deceased County Code Enforcement Chief Andy Wingert, and John Barentine from the International Dark-Sky Association.
If approved by the Planning Commission, the revised ordinance will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for their final approval.
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