By Julie BUTCHER

To bring the ongoing debate about La Crescenta-Montrose’s residential street lighting to a genial resolution, an outdoor lighting community survey went out in the mail to 5,647 property owners on July 17. The surveys were due back by midnight on Aug. 7.

At its Aug. 3 meeting, the Land Use Committee (LUC) of the Crescenta Valley Town Council heard a report from Carmen Sainz from LA County’s Regional Planning about the processing of the survey and the response so far.

Sainz reported that the response has been surprisingly strong and that other parts of the County will benefit from learning how best to engage the affected community. So far, she reported, 633 surveys were received via the mail, and 136 had been emailed, with more coming in every day.

“It was good that we gave people options to mail, email or drop off their surveys. Folks were pleased they could drop off their survey at the sheriff’s station because it’s open 24 hours, especially people who work long hours,” the planner noted, fanning a fat pile of completed surveys with a big grin.

The results will be tallied, posted on Aug. 14 on the County’s planning site (http://planning.lacounty.gov), and shared at a general meeting of the CV Town Council on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.

The community survey follows an ongoing dialogue about street lighting. In October 2016, the LA County Board of Supervisors enacted a six-month moratorium on petitions for new street lighting districts in the La Crescenta-Montrose area at the request of the CV Town Council. After that, the committee and council studied, researched and debated the issue; engaged the County’s professionals; and finally determined that a comprehensive survey of the affected residents was necessary.

Those who support more street lights argue that the lights increase the feeling of safety in the neighborhood and make it possible to see when walking at night; those advocating a “Dark Sky” approach claim that reduced focused lighting is better for wildlife, reduces light pollution and is reported to be healthier for the circadian rhythms of humans.

“The County – Carmen and her co-workers – have worked very hard to help us reach out to all of the members of our community to resolve this in the most inclusive ways,” CV Town Council member Aram Ordubegian commented. “Doing a comprehensive survey like this is a lot of work, but it’s great that we gave everyone a chance to weigh in.”

The Crescenta Valley Town Council meets next on Thursday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. at the La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd. and will discuss the results of the survey at the meeting.

  Julie BUTCHER