Yucca Valley Planning Commission discusses 5-year period for businesses to comply with new Outdoor Lighting Ordinance
As introduced by Senior Planner Jared Jerome, the primary update of the Outdoor Lighting Ordinance would be a five-year sunset period for commercial businesses to comply with the new updates from the date the ordinance is passed. The new standard for outdoor lighting is a maximum of 3000 Lumens and 3 Lux for commercial businesses with 1000 Lumens and 1 Lux, the lowest measurable light, for residential.
During public comment, resident Erin Gatlin suggested a tighter sunset period of a year or 18-months like Twentynine Palms, then asked the Commission how they planned to approach string lights, since they are more difficult to shield and often found at short term rentals. Commissioner Stoker explained that because Yucca Valley has larger scale developments and parking lots, the five years seems suitable in cases where the business would have to spend upwards of $100,000 for new lighting. String lighting, however, was reconsidered and added to the update for further research, though Jerome said it would be “tricky.” Deputy Town Manager Shane Stueckle said they had discussed string lights and they may have an exemption.
“Number one, many of them are exempt from the California building codes because they’re solar operated, so they’re a little bit different than how the code treats your typical 110 powered lights. I’ve not seen shielded string lights in town. I know there’s a number of non-vacation rental homes that now use string lights constantly as just part of their backyard and side yard decor so it’s something that could affect a lot of residents in the community,” said Stueckle.
The Commission voted to file and receive the report with the addition for further research to be addressed at the next meeting on Tuesday, September 22.
