12/07/03 Luhman to Council/LightingDecember 7, 2003
Kalispell Mayor and City Council
312 First Avenue East
Kalispell, MT 59901
Dear Kalispell Mayor and City Council,
I ain writing about the Spring Prairie PUD, Attachment A of KPP-03-14, Conditions of Approval
for this section 36 planning.
Item 16 deals with lighting. It talks about lights should be shielded and directed downward and
have cut-offs. This direction is better than nothing, but I think it leaves the developer being able
to have parking lots like Home Depot across the street. Especially at this planning stage I think
that better light solutions can be used so there is less obtrusive lighting for the Lowe's project.
Full -cutoffs lights put all of the light on the ground, like the Glacier Airport parking lot. Cutoff
lights put most of the light on the ground, but some gets out and causes glare and glow, like Home
Depot parking lot. Wal-Mart lights appear to be cutoff with some light escaping to the side.
Tidymans lights seem to go mostly down. Compare Albertson's Express gas station with full -
cutoff lights with the semi -cutoff lights at the Exxon gas station across the street. Effective
amounts of light can be provided without blinding drivers and causing needless glow to the sky
and at reduced energy costs. I would ask that these types of requirements be put into the Spring
Prairie Subdivision approval.
1. I would ask that full -cutoff lights be required, with a cutoff angle of 20 degrees below
horizontal.
2. Use timers to turn outdoor lights off during those hours when they are not needed (e.g., in
parking lots after stores close and employees have left).
3. Use motion -detector controls. For security applications, specify motion -sensing controls so
that lights will turn on when somebody walks by. Infrared sensors are recommended over
ultrasonic sensors for outdoor lighting.
4. Adopt the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) recommended light
levels and standards for design of this section 36 PUD. It could also be used as a basis for
new city and country lighting standards as well.
Thank you for your consideration of my thoughts on lighting standards so that they can be
incorporated into the Lowe`s project so we end up with better lighting than we have at Home
Depot..
Sin ely,
e Lu1nn
169 Trailridge Road
Kalispell, MT 59901