The lights of Sue Cooley Stadium shine down on Lahainaluna football players as they huddle with coaches before the start of a game last October against Maui High. A bill before the Maui County Council would give sporting venues, airports, hotels and other businesses three years to update their outdoor lighting in an effort to protect native seabirds from becoming disoriented. Sporting venues may have more time if compliant lighting is not available. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

Nighttime sporting event venues, airports, hotels and other businesses would be given three years to replace artificial light fixtures under a bill that aims to address light pollution and mitigate threats to native Hawaiian seabirds.

The purpose of these rules is to keep native Hawaiian seabirds from becoming disoriented by artificial lights during flights from their burrows out to sea, said Maui County Council Member Kelly Takaya King, who chairs the Climate Action, Resilience and Environment Committee.

When these birds fall to the ground, they are left vulnerable to predation by cats, mongoose and other predators, as well as to vehicle collisions and starvation.

“Birds also help to provide a representation of current biodiversity or lack thereof, which is foretelling of our possible future fate,” King said Wednesday. “The good news is that people and organizations are getting involved, including local conservation groups.”

After the first draft of the bill was deemed broad and ambiguous, the committee went back to the drawing board and eventually recommended the bill with amendments on Wednesday.

Under the lights at Iron Maehara Stadium, longtime Maui baseball supporter and volunteer, Warren Shimabukuro, 88, helps the Maui County field crew prep the diamond between first-round games in the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHHSAA Division I state baseball Tournament in Wailuku last month. If the Maui County Council’s Bill 21 passes, stadiums would be among the venues would have to update their outdoor lighting to protect seabirds flying at night.

Native Hawaiian seabirds are historically and traditionally crucial to Maui’s ecosystem, and King said the council’s intent is to protect them as much as possible from interference of onshore sources of artificial light, like street lamps, porch lights, headlights and large stadium lights.

The revised bill reduced the amount of visible blue light content permitted in outdoor lighting fixtures, except for neon, from 5 percent to 2 percent to limit the short wavelengths that are distracting for wildlife.

The bill still calls for the removal of mercury vapor from new outdoor lighting fixtures or for the replacement of existing outdoor lighting fixtures with mercury vapor.

It also clarifies that all outdoor lighting fixtures, except for neon, must be fully shielded and faced down with no light shining above the horizontal, while wall-mounted fixtures must have opaque shields to direct all light down, and, if the light hits a wall surface, the surface must be nonreflective. Outdoor lighting fixtures must also be mounted as low as possible while still complying with existing lighting and safety standards — height standards will be clarified by the county Department of Public Works.

Exemptions include outdoor lighting fixtures producing light through combustion of fossil fuels, such as kerosene and gasoline, and low wattage fixtures used for holiday decorations only.

All outdoor lighting fixtures installed prior to the enactment of the ordinance would only be exempt for a period of three years to get the appropriate lights.

Lighting for nighttime sports and athletic events held on fields on state Department of Education properties, private school grounds, and county parks and facilities could extend beyond the three-year period if there are no compliant lighting fixtures available that meet industry standards for sporting events.

“We definitely don’t want to create a culture of anger towards the birds, so like I said, we need to coexist, so if we need to make some exemptions, then absolutely, but we also need to be aware of those events and maybe have one of our team members to look for these incidents that could draw in the birds,” said Cheryl King, seabird biology technician for the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project. “We want everyone to be on board with this. … There are a lot of lighting solutions out there.”

The committee also amended the bill to include a section that requires the Department of Public Works, the enforcement agency, to create a list of compliant lighting fixtures as guidance for retailers and consumers to refer to when stocking or purchasing new products.

Council Chairwoman Alice Lee added that the more educational opportunities and assistance for retailers there are over the transitional period, “the better it will be for the public.”

Three years should allow manufacturers and businesses time to make the transition, the committee said.

During testimony, Pete Strasser of Arizona, who is the technical director for the International Dark-Sky Association, said that switching lights would also save people money in the long run.

Earthjustice attorney David Henkin said that the Maui County revised bill “accomplishes” what the intentions are and that it is similar to what is being successfully enforced on Hawaii island.

King, along with Council Members Lee, Mike Molina, Shane Sinenci, Tamara Paltin and Gabe Johnson, supported the amendments to the bill. Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura was opposed.

The revised bill heads to the full council, with the date to be determined.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaiian Airlines and Par Hawaii, the state’s largest supplier of energy products, said ...

The Maui News One additional case of monkeypox has been identified in an adult Oahu resident, the state Department ...

A reopening ceremony for the upgraded Kalama Skate Park will be held at 10 a.m. June 17, the county Department of ...

Three Makena beaches were closed for about two hours Wednesday afternoon after Ocean Safety officers at the first ...

Temperatures in Kahului reached 91 degrees on Wednesday, tying the record set on the same day in 1996, according to ...

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Copyright © Maui News | https://www.mauinews.com | 100 Mahalani Street, Wailuku, HI 96793 | 808-242-6363