Board holds World Buddhism Association lantern‑festival use permit for more information on lights, hours and height

The Winchester Town Advisory Board on Aug. 26 held, for two weeks, a use‑permit application from an applicant identified as Dragon Lights LLC / production for the World Buddhism Association property that would stage a ticketed lantern‑style light installation on a large paved lot behind the Sahara casino. Jennifer Lazovich, representing the applicant, described the proposal as a ground‑level, walk‑through illuminated exhibition similar to displays at other venues rather than an aerial lantern release. "It is also not a lantern festival or a lantern activation where you release lanterns into the sky," Lazovich said. She added the applicant would not permit live amplified music and said the planned public dates are Dec. 20 to March 8, with setup and teardown occurring before and after the public run. Nearby residents spoke at length about brightness, noise, hours and duration. Karen Genelas, a resident of Turnberry Towers (222 Karen Avenue), said the experience of a similar event at the Westgate left local residents unable to use balconies and dealing with loud recorded music; she told the board she was "strongly opposed" and described the Westgate event as "a nightmare." Board and staff discussion noted the county development code already limits temporary event lighting that creates glare or light trespass: a county planner said the code permits temporary lighting for the duration of an event so long as it "does not create glare to motorists or result in glare or light trespass onto adjacent properties," and that neighbors could file code enforcement complaints for on‑site meter readings and enforcement if standards are exceeded. Key contested points included the height of individual illuminated installations (public commenters estimated some installations might reach 20–40 feet), whether the festival would be brighter than the Sphere, traffic and parking capacity (the applicant said 296 existing parking spaces would remain available at the site), and weekend hours. Lazovich proposed hours of Sunday–Wednesday 3 p.m.–10 p.m. and Thursday–Saturday 2 p.m.–midnight; she added that the applicant could work with conditions to reduce sound outside of each themed zone and to limit or dim lighting after 10 p.m. Because many technical questions — including exact installation heights, precise ingress/egress and a final plan for lighting mitigation — remained unanswered, the board voted to hold the item and asked the applicant to return with annotated plans and specific mitigation proposals at the Sept. 9 meeting. What happens next: The applicant will provide the board with clarified heights, a lighting‑containment/mitigation plan, final schedule details (setup/teardown windows), and any other specifics the board requested; staff noted a one‑year follow‑up or earlier code enforcement response could be added as a condition.