The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) has announced a Light Monitor Grant Program to provide devices to enable the monitoring of visible artificial light at night. While the grant is prioritized to applicants located in areas listed in the United Nations list of least developed countries, these devices can be purchased for use by dark sky advocates everywhere to evaluate how dark is their night sky. The Morongo Basin Conservation Association – or MBCA – has committed to purchasing several of these meters and intend to use within the Morongo Basin.
With the passage of the San Bernardino County Light Trespass Ordinance community members and code enforcement can utilize this tool to evaluate the presence of light trespass. The ordinance went into effect in January 2022 and provides time windows from that date when lighting must comply with the ordinance (residential 24 months and commercial 18 months). In the interim, the Glare and Outdoor Lighting code section that was replaced with the Light Trespass ordinance remains in effect.
