Southern Section News
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Please join us as we move to Sahuarita, AZ for our May Brownbag:
Dark Skies and Outdoor Lighting Codes
May 18th, 2010 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Sahuarita Town Hall,
Council Chambers
375 W. Sahuarita Center Way
Sahuarita, AZ 85629
With:
- Christian K. Monrad, P.E., Principal and Vice President of Monrad Engineering, Inc.
- Dan Brocious, public information specialist for the Smithsonian Institution's Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory at Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and for the Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory
Description:
This lunch-time brown bag discussion covers the importance of dark skies and well-designed outdoor lighting. The discussion will center on the environmental, societal, and public safety consequences of poor lighting design, types of illumination, and the elements of well-designed site lighting. An emphasis will be placed on planners’ roles in implementing and improving lighting codes and other zoning code illumination regulations.
Dark skies are of particular importance in southern Arizona due to the nearby observatories that rely on dark skies for astronomical research and for the economic impacts that the astronomical industry has on the state as a whole. The location that has been chosen for this discussion is of significance as well; Sahuarita is located within one of the more restrictive lighting zones in southern Arizona. As residents and elected officials become more aware of dark skies issues and the importance of well-designed site lighting, planners will likely be seeing greater emphasis placed on lighting codes and illumination standards in the near future.
This topic will be of interest to planners and others who are responsible for enforcing or updating a local outdoor lighting code or Zoning Code illumination standards. Planners will gain knowledge of terminology and best practices in outdoor lighting design and regulation.
Lunch: TBD
Cost: $5 for the talk, $5 more for lunch
RSVP: southernsectionboard@gmail.com by May 14, 2010.
Hope to see you all in Sahuarita!