Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 12:17:02 -0500
From: Mike Stebbins 
Subject: NHCRL December E-newsletter

New Hampshire Citizens for Responsible Lighting Newsletter for December 1998

Note: There will be a live broadcast on December 13 on WSMN Nashua at 7:20 AM for those interested in listening.

During the month of November the organization represented a couple in Hampton Falls NH that had a very bad light trespass problem from a neighbor, because of our written materials, the problem has been somewhat addressed, caulk this one up as a win. We are currently involved with three other cases of neighbor lighting issues.

NHCRL meet with the Manchester City Planning Board in mid-November, the board listened to our appeal for lighting ordinances and established a committee to study the options and report back for a possible aldermen vote in January.

NHCRL membership is now at 76, will want to have over 100 members to help represent the cause. Please feel free to copy and distribute our membership flyer! The flyer can be printed from http://www.mv.com/user/lopez/nhcrl

What is light pollution and light trespass?

Would you be concerned if a neighbor set up a lawn sprinkler that sprayed into your yard and open windows? How about a spot light that does the same? How can we force people to 'conserve ' light? Well we do it now with water, all new installations of water using fixtures must have 'water saver' features, why not lights too? Have you ever been sitting on the shore of an NH lake at night, (or maybe just your back yard) enjoying the evening, to then have a 'security' light on the other side of the lake turn on and dazzle your eyes? Why do people come to NH to spend their tourist dollars, is it the remoteness from the cities, and what defines a city at night, the 'light dome' over it? Like Concord, Manchester, and Nashua have (to name a few). Are we going to go the way of Massachusetts? Will the tourist dollars be there in 10 years? Will our standard of living be the same in 10 years?

Light trespass is all of the above, it prevents people from having a safe and enjoyable life. If you moved into NH because you like the area, or if you have lived here forever and seen the state slowly change, don't let the towns of NH slide toward 'big city' thinking. NH is great the way it is, glaring lights in the night are not the way.

RSA 236:55 states 'It shall be unlawful to place any light along a highway so positioned as to blind or dazzle the vision of travelers on the adjacent highway...'

This law was passed in 1957, and has not been enforced. This is the extent of NH law regarding outdoor lighting, this makes it legal for a party to shine spotlights into a neighbors yard and house, as long as the light doesn't impact the traffic on the street...

This is your chance to make a difference, your state representative(s) will listen to you, and given enough motivation (and it doesn't take much motivation, they are looking for ways to help their constituents) will support and/or co-sponsor this bill. This bill has wide appeal since it has to do with safety, the environment, protecting tourism dollars, quality of life, and saving waisted tax monies. We would ask NHCRL active members to review the IDA and NELPAG web sites for information on why light pollution/trespass abatement is good, then contact your state rep and ask them to support LSR 328, and to coordinate the effort with us and Gene Gagnon, the bills primary sponsor.

The text of the bill follows (if you need further information on this please send an E-mail and we will be happy to reply):

(Note from the editor, I have deleted the bill from this newsletter because it was formatted very poorly, please see the Web page for a copy.)

_________________________________ 
Mike Stebbins    nhas@compuserve.com
Secretary     
NHCRL