When the “Dark Skies” legislation was first proposed by Southampton Town Councilwoman Nancy Graboski, it appeared to be praised by members of the public. Local citizen advisory groups, including the Sag Harbor CAC, had long asked the town for laws impeding light pollution to be put on the books.
Oddly enough, at the first public hearing held on Tuesday, the “Dark Skies” law was met with both outrage and congratulations from local residents.
Richard Warren, the village’s planning consultant, spoke against the draft law on behalf of the Southampton Business Alliance.
“This will incur significant costs for [residents] personally. I know from my own experience an electrician can cost $250 just to come to your house,” said Warren, who is the president of the alliance. He added that the legislation should apply to only new construction or a homeowner building a new addition. Warren believes the town should create incentives for people with pre-existing outdoor lighting to adopt “Dark Skies” lighting. In the current version of the law, all pre-existing outdoor lighting must be brought into compliance within 10 years of the legislation becoming effective.
Some supporters of the law, including a representative from the Group for the East End, suggested town residents be given only five years to become compliant.
Bob Schepps, president of the Southampton Chamber of Commerce, said the legislation would essentially over regulate town residents.
Assistant town attorney Joe Burke said the intent of the law was to reduce light pollution, to cut down on electricity waste and to prevent the glare or “sky glow” which can infringe on the night sky vista.
“We don’t regulate lighting at all right now,” reported supervisor Linda Kabot. “What Nancy is trying to do is put a comprehensive lighting code on the books.”
Graboski adjourned the hearing and carried it over to the June 23 town board meeting at 6 p.m.

Young Vets Get Benefits of Affordable Housing
In a previous Southampton Town board meeting, the resolution giving military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan first priority on certain affordable housing properties received criticism from the public. Some said it was unfair to single out one particular group of veterans to benefit from the program, though councilman Christopher Nuzzi, who sponsored the legislation, said all income-eligible veterans are included in the general lottery. During Tuesday’s board meeting, however, town residents came out in support of the legislation.
“This law was inspired by several non-profit housing organizations looking to do something good for returning veterans. These young people who go off to war often have to delay a career,” said former town supervisor Patrick “Skip” Heaney, the current county economic development and workforce housing commissioner. Heaney added that the law piggybacks a similar one passed by the county.
“This is aimed at first time home buyers,” continued Heaney.
Daniel Stebbins, a 43-year-old veteran, said housing prices in the town are prohibitively expensive for young residents, forcing them to move elsewhere.
“It would be a shame if in 50 years, there were no vets here,” noted Stebbins.
The board passed the legislation becoming the first town within the county to do so.
“It is great to have Southampton be the model. We hope other towns will meld this into their own code,” remarked Kabot.

Town to Buy Pike Farm, Waiting for County
In a partnership with the county, the town plans to buy the development rights to a 7.4 acre farm on Sagg Main Street in Sagaponack, where the Pike Farm Stand operates. The rights will be purchased from the Peconic Land Trust for around $6.4 million. Suffolk County has promised to pay 70 percent of the purchase price.
“This is a community treasure — that is why you see the county stepping up to the plate,” said Kabot, but added that the purchase was contingent on the county partnership.
Mary Wilson, the town’s community preservation fund manager, wasn’t sure if the county’s recent plan to use their main open space funding source to abate county property taxes would affect the purchase of the development rights. During a later interview, county legislator Jay Schneiderman said open space projects are now on hold until the county votes on this legislation, which is expected to be up for a vote in the coming weeks.

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by Marissa Maier 

 One advantage to living on the East End is a clear view of the night sky. But as residential and commercial development grows, so does the glow of outdoor lighting which infringes upon this vista. Following the steps of neighboring municipalities including Sag Harbor Village, the Southampton Town Board is considering implementing “Dark Skies” legislation in an effort to cut down on evening light pollution.

 Nearly two weeks ago, the town passed a resolution designating the week of April 20 to April 26 as “Dark Sky” week. The resolution document determined the night sky was a natural resource to be protected by the town. The board asked residents to reduce their use of outdoor lighting and wattage.

 During a town work session, on Friday, April 24, Southampton Town Councilwoman Nancy Graboski presented a comprehensive draft of an updated town lighting code.

 “This is a preview meeting,” said Graboski at the work session. “We wanted to bring the board into the loop and take this draft to circulate to the various stakeholders, [including] the Green Committee, the Business Alliance and the CACs … We intend to incorporate any preliminary comments.”

 Graboski and her team — planner Janice Scherer, assistant town attorney Joseph Burke, and concerned citizens Susan Harder and Gail Clyma — worked on the lighting code draft for over a year and used legislation in cities across the nation, like Boulder, Colorado, and neighboring towns, from East Hampton to Brookhaven, as models for Southampton.

 The group’s draft includes guidelines on light usage for both residential and commercial properties. For private homes, the draft legislation sets a maximum height for a mounted light fixture at 14 feet, regulates light bulb strength to 100 watts or below and determines that non-essential outdoor lighting is prohibited from dusk to dawn. The town also encourages homeowners to purchase lighting with automated shut off controls.

 Commercial lighting is subject to a different, and more detailed, set of standards. The maximum wattage for light fixtures is set at 100, but a mounted light cannot exceed 12 feet and a light attached to a pole cannot exceed 14 feet. If the legislation passes in its current form, both non-conforming and conforming light fixtures must be shut off within half an hour of the close of the business. Safety and emergency lights will be controlled by photocells, timers or motion sensors and all commercial interior lighting must be off when the facility is closed.

 Graboski said “dark skies” sensitive light fixtures were already in place on the streets of Sag Harbor, with a particularly good example in front of the Whaling Museum. Overhead lighting near the museum is directed downward and the bulbs are encased in glass, which reduces glare.

 Certain light fixtures would be exempt from this legislation, such as holiday, emergency, runway, road construction and communication tower lighting.

 “Any pre-existing lighting would be classified as non-conforming,” noted Scherer, who added that this lighting would be grandfathered in, but subject to code compliance if the property was renovated. Scherer believes much of the lighting in the town already complies with the standards in the draft as the planning board has been following similar criteria for several years.

 “This law will codify the standards and clarify what those standards are,” said Graboski of the draft.

 Provisions similar to the Southampton Town lighting code draft can be found in the proposed Sag Harbor Village zoning code update. If the village code is enacted, lighting fixtures on commercial buildings must be mounted at 12 feet and under. Mercury vapor, laser and neon lighting — if not pre-existing — is explicitly banned. Outdoor commercial lighting must be turned off an hour after a business closes.

 In Southampton, Graboski told the board that an update of the draft legislation will be discussed at a follow-up work session in the coming weeks. A date for the public hearing on the new town lighting code is tentatively set for June 9.

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