City planner(s) presented proposed technical updates to the city's wildlife‑friendly lighting ordinance, proposing more specific, measurable standards and additional implementation tools to reduce false crawls and protect nesting sea turtles.

Brannenberry said the city's 2007 ordinance is based on an older model and that recent best practices and state guidance favor more technical requirements. "45% is what is currently in the model lighting ordinance...But those updates that we need are technical in nature," the planner said, and noted that a lower visible light transmittance standard ("30% appears to be the...correct standard to go with") and long‑wavelength lamp requirements have demonstrable effects on reducing false crawls.

Proposed updates described for the committee include: adopting a specific visible light transmittance (VLT) standard for windows, adding spectrometric testing for newly installed lighting not on the Fish & Wildlife Commission's certified fixtures list, specifying pool lighting standards, requiring full‑cutoff fixtures, and clarifying definitions of "existing" versus "new" construction. The planner said the Sea Turtle Conservancy is reviewing the draft and the city had already sought its input.

Committee members asked about enforcement and penalty structures and requested examples of best practices from other beach municipalities. The planner said new‑construction inspection is straightforward but that verifying existing interior lighting at night poses operational challenges; he suggested the city could use the state list of certified fixtures and a spectrometer on a case‑by‑case basis.

Public commenter Lisa Reich of coastal wildlife advocates thanked staff for their work and asked for continued engagement with conservation partners: "I just wanna express my gratitude to the city staff...for all your work that you have done," she said.

Why it matters: lighting affects nesting and hatchling success. The updates aim to translate technical best practices into enforceable code language while balancing retrofit and inspection realities.

Ending: Staff will schedule a workshop on the lighting ordinance along with other beach ordinance workshops, provide technical references, and, at the committee's request, gather peer‑city enforcement examples and Sea Turtle Conservancy technical clarifications for the workshop.