Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Uplighting Colonial Williamsburg

Last night the local Architectural Review Board approved a plan to uplight eight historic buildings in Colonial Williamsburg with LED fixtures. Unfortunately this decision came too quickly to get IDA's evaluation of the final plans.  An IDA member in Williamsburg worked diligently for months to provide input on this decision and possibly prevent the uplighting altogether.  In the end officials made important concessions and gave attention to issues of Color Correlated Temperature and output intensity.   You can read more here including my comment at the end of the article (click on the comment bubble icon if comments are not visible).

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Staunton's Earth Day All About the Night

 In February I had the pleasure of being the guest speaker at the Winter Soup Social of the Newtown [Historic District]Neighborhood Association in Staunton, Virginia. The room was packed, the people were amazing, and my family and I were so glad we had made a weekend of it because downtown Staunton is a place you don't want to leave.
And now, as far as I know, Staunton is the first community in Virginia to make nightscapes and dark skies the focus of its Earth Day celebration.  Check out the fantastic line up and consider booking your room at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel to enjoy the Shenandoah springtime!

2015 International Dark Sky Week Begins April 13th!

Visit the IDA website every day this week to learn more about light pollution--its health and ecological consequences, the energy it wastes, why lighting that conserves our night skies is also better for public safety, and what you can do to help make a difference.

Powhatan County's 2014 ordinance

This is the link for Powhatan County's 2014 Zoning Ordinance. To find the section on exterior lighting, go to page 254, section 83-649.