Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 14, 1995 TAG: 9504140025
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The county Planning Commission is inviting members of the Board of Supervisors to a demonstration of exterior lighting next month at Hubbell Lighting Inc. in Christiansburg.
It's all in an effort to decide whether it's worth trying to regulate dusk-to-dawn outside lights. The demonstration of the use of shielding on exterior lights will be held at 8:15 p.m. May 3.
In January, Supervisor Henry Jablonski asked the county staff to look into the issue after receiving a complaint. The county planning staff brought a draft ordinance to the Planning Commission last month, but members wanted more research before recommending a new local law to the supervisors.
Wednesday, six of the nine Planning Commission members revisited the issue. They came to a consensus that an ordinance governing exterior light intensities - such as Roanoke County's - might be neither practical nor desirable.
While regulating the brightness of outside lights might make the restless sleeper next door happy, members concluded, it may strike the light owner as an infringement of private property rights.
The commissioners agreed that encouraging the shielding of exterior lights - to direct glare downward and intensify light where needed - might be the way to go, rather than regulating light intensity. That's where the demonstration at Hubbell fits in.
Also Wednesday, the Planning Commission heard that six top government managers surveyed said Montgomery County is doing a poor job of adhering to its 1990 comprehensive plan in half of eight sections.
Assistant planner Jeff Rice surveyed officials with the public facilities, economic development, parks and planning departments, the Public Service Authority and the Cooperative Extension Service. Areas that fared poorly included transportation, environment, community facilities and housing. So-so scores went to building the economy and developing neighborhood plans. The highest scores went to trash management and providing water and sewer service to rural areas.
The Planning Commission will send the survey to the Board of Supervisors in preparation for a joint meeting later this spring. The appointed commission wants to get a sense from the elected board of how it wants the comprehensive plan revised. The supervisors, on the other hand, want to talk about ways to better link planning for water and sewer lines with rural subdivision development.
by CNB