At last Wednesday’s County Council meeting we discussed updates to our county’s lighting ordinances. While the new Heber Valley Temple was the catalyst for us to address this issue, our current ordinances were adopted 20 years ago and needed to be updated anyway. After several hours of public comment we heard the concerns and feelings from many of our community members. Many great points were made by all sides and so we decided to wait until our next regular meeting on April 19th before making any final decisions. In the meantime we have asked the county staff to address lighting zones, holiday lighting, residential regulations, uplighting definitions, and candelas per square meter measurements.
It’s important to recognize how much work has gone into this process. The council subcommittee, the county planning commission, county staff, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the countless people who have written emails and have come to meetings to share their thoughts. Wasatch County isn’t like other places. Our community is special, and that’s why so many people care so deeply.
I feel really encouraged to see the process working the way it should. Everyone is being given a voice as we work towards what is best for Wasatch County. Many of the responses that I have seen have been genuine and the care they have for this beautiful place where we live is evident.
However, I’ve been deeply saddened by both the outright religious bigotry and also more subtle attacks we’ve seen by a small but unfortunately very vocal group. For some, “Dark Skies” has become a proxy for their personal feelings towards the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and organized religion in general. I’ve been shocked at some of the hate-filled emails and social media comments I have seen that openly discriminate against others because of their beliefs. Regardless of your religious affiliation or lack thereof, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the original settlers of our valley, many of which were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who braved so many challenges in the belief that God had called them to this very special place. Many since with diverse faiths and backgrounds have come to live and work in this valley with a similar calling.
Despite what some might tell you, this isn’t a choice between our dark skies or a temple. Expert after expert has told us we can work together to embrace both things. A better code will help us facilitate beautiful and tactfully lit buildings, as well as help us embrace dark sky initiatives.
I have faith in this process and believe the best is yet to come. Thank you to all for your continued input and support as we navigate these important issues together.
Your County Councilman,
Luke Searle
Luke,
thank you for your post and I appreciate a pause to further consider the many valid issues raised at the County Council meeting. This is a legacy decision, so it deserves the time to get it right. I have not witnessed the bigotry you described and observed mostly civil and respectful comments from both sides. I do respect and understand the proud Mormon history in the Heber Valley and think it is wonderful you will have a Temple here. However, I do believe there is bias on the council that is clouding objectivity in weighing the logical concerns raised, like creating lighting zones. The proposed Temple location has a water table issue (increased height of structure), an FAA lighting…
I had a conversation with John Barentine at the council meeting. I have followed his work for quite some time. I asked him if the current proposal sent to the council is passed, could it cause the Jordanelle State Park to lose its dark sky designation.? He replied, “It is a risk.”
He repeated it. It is a risk. Are you aware of that?
Why would the council even consider a lighting ordinance that could erase the designation of one of our dark sky parks? Why not thoughtfully put together a dark sky ordinance that protects and preserves, not one that takes this county in the opposite direction?
i have kept my focus on dark sky issues. I appreciate yo…
Commissioner Searle. Thanks you for bringing clarity and candidness back into the narrative. I am in favor of a reasonable "dark sky's initiative" and am supportive of a house of worship in my community. I feel both will have a positive impact on our growing community at large.
The county withheld public records group members requested on Dark Sky Expert, Dr. Barentines analysis'.
County Manager, Grabau called it “regrettable” that county offices didn’t send the documents before the meeting.
https://www.kpcw.org/wasatch-county/2023-04-14/dark-sky-code-returns-to-wasatch-county-council-but-is-it-ready-to-become-law
Luke,
I enjoyed your blog post. I have also seen the religious bigotry, AND the religious exuberance or entitlement with respect to the temple/Dark Skies conversations. BOTH are discouraging. The engagement in the political process and public comment period is, however, encouraging. Thank you for making outreach efforts with your email and blog post to encourage discourse.
I'd like to address the common statement that §16.21.16 of the Wasatch County Code ordinance is "outdated and needs updating." I think that point has been well established, given the improvement in lighting technology in the last two decades. As Curtis Miner of Core Architecture pointed out, the only real fundamental component to the 2000 code is "downlighting" or "90 degree cut off…