At the behest of the City-County Planning Board, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning and Development Services staff has drafted a proposed lighting ordinance. If adopted, this ordinance would address the issue of light trespass and to some degree glare for NEW development and recreational use areas, such as ball fields.
Before formal consideration by the Planning Board, they would like to gather public feedback through an online survey and two public meetings where you can voice your support, opinions or concerns.
Please read the ordinance and complete the survey in the link below and/or join one of their scheduled community meetings to share your thoughts on the proposed ordinance. These meetings will take place at the Forsyth County Central Library Auditorium, 660 West Fifth Street, Winston-Salem.
Meeting 1: Monday, May 7, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Meeting 2: Wednesday, May 16, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Here is a link to the Draft Lighting Ordinance and Survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z7FQ2L6
This survey is really only directed at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County residents due to its local ordinance nature. This is a topic that is near and dear to us at the FAS as we continually see the effects of light pollution and trespass in our pursuits of darker observation sites. We can still see the effects of Winston-Salem light pollution on the night sky even as far away as our observing sites on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We would greatly appreciate your positive participation in this survey and public discord.
Light pollution is a very real concern not only for stargazing but for damages to our wildlife ecosystems, economic resources and even human health. For more information about its effects and how you can help, click the image bellow to be linked to the International Dark-Sky Association.
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