Hellooo, City Hall; anybody home?

On Jan. 21, 2021, the Park City Council enacted Ordinance No. 2021-05, adopting an outdoor lighting code. One provision of this ordinance is that outdoor seasonal lighting may only be on from Nov. 1 to March 1. Today is April 19 and as I drive around town I see many, many seasonal lights still on. To me this brings up several issues, such as why would the city enact an ordinance and then fail to enforce it?

We have many ordinances that the city DOES enforce, such as parking, noise and fireworks. Why not this ordinance?

In addition, the city makes no effort to remind citizens of their obligation to turn off their lights, such as announcements on KPCW or in the local paper or on the various social media sites. Why not? How are residents supposed to comply with an ordinance if they don’t know it exists?

I’ll admit, I’m biased; I don’t particularly care for seasonal lights. They can be tasteful and lovely but around here it seems to be a competition to see who can come closest to being as big and bright as a used-car sales lot. A lot of owners aren’t even here full-time in the winter but light up their places anyway; who exactly are the lights for?

If you aren’t there, turn them off!

I’m a big fan of the night sky with the beautiful view of the stars and planets we can see here with our clear air, and seasonal lighting really impacts that view. Perhaps it’s time for a full Dark Sky Initiative such as the one attempted in Wasatch County. Of course, the city would still have to enforce it!