Gunny456 said:

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Yep. I'm on the side of ole Brazos Dog here. My dad was a LEO for almost 4 decades. He used to say that folks that have outside lights on all night like mercury vapor or floods, are just making light for the burglars and thieves to see what they are doing better.

True story here.: About 8 years ago a wanted guy for multiple murders was on the lose in Kimble County. He had ran from a KC deputy Sheriff about 11:00 pm. and exited off IH10 at the Segovia exit…..ran his car off into a fence a broke and ran into the brush.
He evaded capture for almost three days by staying hidden in that typical hill country ranch terrain. Most of the ranches in that area were larger acreages. He laid up during the day and traveled at night.
When captured he told the Cheif Deputy of KC that he found hunting cabins and uninhabited homes/buildings
by finding high hills at night and searched for the security lights or flood lights that were on. He said it showed him exactly where to head to hangout and steal provisions, firearms and vehicles.

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CanyonAg77 said:

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Anyone wonder why we want dark skies, take a look at the Northern Lights thread.

You can't see these if your farm is lit up like a county fair midway

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3575263

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harge57 said:

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philevans said:

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in suburban areas, self defense warning motion lights, will save much litigation paper work.

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Please expand.

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txags92 said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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Anyone wonder why we want dark skies, take a look at the Northern Lights thread.

You can't see these if your farm is lit up like a county fair midway

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3575263

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Exactly. When we moved into our subdivision on the outskirts of Bastrop, we were one of the first houses occupied at night. The starwatching was glorious. As more neighbors have moved in, the number who leave their external lights on all night, front and back of the house has skyrocketed, and the number of stars visible has dropped significantly. I had to walk out to the edge of the subdivision to get away from the lights and they still lit up the trees in my photos. The farmhouses a mile or more away still stick out like sore thumbs with their security lights all lit up in the middle of the night.

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Gunny456 said:

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We had a couple come out to the ranch years back that were total city folk from inner Houston all their lives. They had never really been to a pure dark sky area.
We always take our guest/visitors outside and sit in chairs with all house lights and outside lights out to sky gaze.
This night it was a no moon night and the stars were a billion in the clear sky. The lady guest was looking up and said…." Oh wow, way out here and there still is pollution haze in the sky" , as she pointed up.
I gave her a set of binoculars and told her to take a closer look. That "pollution" she thought she was seeing was the Milky Way. She had never ever seen it her entire lifetime.
You can't put a price tag on that.

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BrazosDog02 said:

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txags92 said:

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BrazosDog02 said:

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txags92 said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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Anyone wonder why we want dark skies, take a look at the Northern Lights thread.

You can't see these if your farm is lit up like a county fair midway

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3575263

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Exactly. When we moved into our subdivision on the outskirts of Bastrop, we were one of the first houses occupied at night. The starwatching was glorious. As more neighbors have moved in, the number who leave their external lights on all night, front and back of the house has skyrocketed, and the number of stars visible has dropped significantly. I had to walk out to the edge of the subdivision to get away from the lights and they still lit up the trees in my photos. The farmhouses a mile or more away still stick out like sore thumbs with their security lights all lit up in the middle of the night.

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Easy to fix. Ordinances to shutoff or heavily reduce lighting after 10pm to 6am, and night sky compliant regs….with no cap no limit "f- you" sized fines attached will go a long way…or be a nice revenue stream for the city. It's a prop I'd vote for.

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The small government side of me hates to see government get involved in regulating those kinds of things. I just wish people could learn to appreciate the value of dark skies more.

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I'm small government, too. But the issue is that we have laws and rules because people are too stupid or selfish to do what they should be doing to begin with. Since you and I don't have the power alone, we use the collective to establish rules and laws that are enforceable with fines and things that hurt.

The post above this one about gas station lights is a HUGE one that would be an epic moneymaker. Fine the **** out of them, with no limit or cap. Every infraction...new fine. Same with any lights that are not pointed down. If you can see glare from them outside the property line...fine them.

Your neighbor won't turn off his flood light in his yard because you ask him nicely. But if he gets a $500 fine every time someone documents it being on, I bet he changes his mind on it. It just has to hurt the right way.

To make such a thing pass, accompany said prop with a tax reduction to be offset by the fines. HAHAHA....

I agree with above. If you aren't outside USING the lights, they should be off or at a very very very dim level.

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