Planning Board minutes 1989-10-23

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Minutes for the Meeting of October 23, 1989 4 ing, whether or not they are of the sodium vapor type. He reported there are no regulations covering the installation of this lighting, and demonstrated the difference in intensity between a normal 100 watt incandescent flood light and a 100 watt high intensity light which is 9 times as bright. He noted this is part of the problem with using sodium vapor lighting; it is so much brighter that it bounces in neighbor's yards. He added that these lights are actually installed less carefully than older, less powerful, installations, which are placed lower on the building; whereas newer light installation are higher powered and installed further out from the building and higher, and are much more intrusive to the surrounding area. Mr. Kovner thought there is no control of the intensity and location of lighting, and new technology has made it possible to produce more powerful lighting than is really necessary, which then becomes the standard, producing sort of a "domino" effect where each business or home feels they must be as bright. They noted there are no regulations to provide a means for controll- ing the installation and design standards of new lighting in town. They suggested that wording might be added to electrical permits saying there are lighting standards that are to be followed. Mr. Bowyer commented there was no one section in the Zoning By-Law that deals with lighting issues, and perhaps some work could be done refining language that refers to lighting. He added he thought more might be done by dealing with the problem on an administrative level. He observed there will be a problem with nonconformity in documenting existing conditions and finding new i installations since any inspections would have to be done at night. There was general agreement that the first step to controlling lighting in town would involve creating lighting standards that can be applied administra- tively and by the Board of Appeals. The Board suggested the Building Commis- sioner, the Zoning Officer and the Electrical Inspector be contacted to discuss what type of lighting standards would be necessary to develop a uniform method of enforcing existing regulations and administrative inter- pretations still to be developed. The meeting was adjourned at 10:13 p.m. r q0.4 , LIA David G. Williams, Clerk