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Committee reviews fenestration tests suggesting ~30% visual transmittance reduces turtle disorientation; members await peer review
Summary
Industry testing discussed by the committee showed a preliminary significant reduction in hatchling disorientation at about 30% visual transmittance (VLT). Committee members said they will review peer-reviewed studies before recommending local code changes, and discussed incentives for voluntary adoption.
Committee members reviewed recent fenestration-industry test results that examine how window tint (visual transmittance, or VLT) affects hatchling sea-turtle disorientation.
Chad summarized correspondence from the fenestration industry and said initial tests with hatchling leatherbacks and loggerheads “preliminarily… appear that a point 3 tint is, and anything darker than that, is effective in reducing the disorientation of the turtles.” He also reminded the committee that the state currently has a 45% VLT mandate referenced in earlier correspondence.
Members urged caution. Councilor Chris King and other committee members said the industry’s experiment is a useful data point but recommended waiting for peer-reviewed studies and broader corroboration before changing local rules. One committee member observed, “The way that science and that community works is that... it may be very well true and factual, but until it's peer reviewed and other experiments are done… it’s gonna take time.”
Staff noted the operational complexity of enforcement: VLT is a percentage and interior curtains or intense interior lighting can affect turtle disorientation even when glazing meets a VLT standard. Chad said his practical experience shows blackout curtains eliminate light issues regardless of glazing.
Members discussed incentives as an intermediate strategy: instead of imposing a new mandatory standard, the town could offer an incentive for property owners who install windows at or below an evidence-based VLT level so occupants would not need additional curtain requirements.
Ending: The committee asked that staff track peer-reviewed results from FGCU/fenestration testing and keep the committee informed; no formal regulatory change was proposed at the meeting.
