Foothills Sentry March 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 8 March 2020 LETTERS to the EDITOR DearEditor Architecture overstated Dear Editor: While I’m glad that Chapman has purchased the Killefer site, with plans to rehab the build- ing, as an architect I must take exception to your assessment of the building as an “architectural gem.” The design of the build- ing is competent, but hardly a standout. (I paid attention to it while briefly consulting with one of the unsuccessful development teams.) The history of the build- ing is really what makes it war- rant saving. To over-glamourize the design itself is to discount works of architecture that are truly masterful. Daniel Gehman, AIA Orange Property wrongs Dear Editor: I live in N. Tustin, but not in the immediate vicinity of the Tu- stin Hills Racquet Club. The pro- posed development will not af- fect me visually, but there will be a traffic impact. That being said, I am surprised that a group of people who supposedly believe in private property rights would behave as if the entire N. Tus- tin area is their HOA, and gives them the right to interfere in pri- vate property transactions. If the FCA is so opposed to the devel- opment on the site of the racquet club, then the proper thing for them to do is to pool their money and buy the property. Then they can do with it as they please. Just like the Ridgeline golf course in OPA years ago, the owner of the property gets screwed by the neighbors because they don’t want it developed, but they don’t want to pay the bucks for owner- ship. Can’t they see the hypoc- risy here? I say “put up or shut up!” Mark Kamp N. Tustin Short-term solutions Dear Editor: I recently read “Short-term rental complaints spur Orange council to action,” Foothills Sen- try , February, which describes the complaints caused by short- term rentals of some houses. The effected neighbors and the own- ers of short-term rental houses have their own different perspec- tives, with both sides having ap- propriate reasons for their posi- tions. Last fall, Silverado residents on Grundy Lane and Anderson Way complained when two long-dor- mant street lights sprang to life, obscuring the stars. Southern California Edison (SCE) agreed to remove those lights. By February 14, with one light apparently dead and the other se- riously ill (blinking slowly), the Inter-Canyon League (ICL) asked SCE for an update. There was no reply, but SCE workers removed both lights on Feb. 24. ICL also requested information about the street lights on Silvera- do Canyon Road, which are now LED models like the Grundy/An- derson lights. These replacement lights seem so much brighter than the old lights, that people have called them “hazardous” to drivers and pedestrians. ICL has asked for specifications for the old lights as well. One advantage of LED lighting is that it uses less electricity for the same amount of light. A question is whether Sil- verado’s new lights actually are brighter: nominal brightness (lumens) is not the only way that light sources can differ. A light fixture’s BUG (Backlight-Up- light-Glare) rating indicates the amount of wasted light spilled behind the fixture, up into the sky, and toward the front. A 2016 report from the Ameri- can Medical Association (AMA) notes: “Unshielded LED light- ing causes significant discomfort from glare. ... Discomfort and disability glare can decrease vi- sual acuity, decreasing safety and creating a road hazard.” Blues in the night Noon daylight color tempera- ture is about 5500 degrees Kel- vin (K). Yellower incandescent light is around 2400K, and amber low-pressure sodium (LPS) street lights, 1700K. Astronomers prefer LPS be- cause the light is nearly all the same wavelength (color), making it easier to filter out, and the warm color does not contribute to light pollution nearly as much as blue/ white light does. Exposure to artificial light of any kind after sundown can lead to poor sleep in humans, but light with a high blue component seems to be especially disrup- tive. That is one reason that the AMA recommends an upper limit of 3000K for street lights. (Win- dows 10 computers can be set to use warmer screen colors at night automatically.) Artificial night light also affects wildlife. Birds that navigate by the moon or stars lose their way. Sea turtle hatchlings attracted to lights on shore fail to find the ocean. Insects, like fireflies, re- quire darkness for reproduction. And a 2006 OC Register article (“Let There Be Dark”) cited two Orange County snake species fac- ing possible local extinction due to light pollution. A 2018 USC study of four un- related species also found that, in general, animals were more disturbed by blue or white light than by amber or green. Yellow light bulbs for porch lights were With the development of net- work technology, online renting has become possible, especially with the help of several well- known websites. Online renting is becoming a trend. Guests can use the website to choose an ap- propriate house that meets their needs, and pay a lower price than the hotel. Renters can use their own vacant houses, or even rooms, to get extra income. Of course, it is also profitable for the website. This seems like an all-win situation. However, undisciplined guests, with excessive noise, parking, and gathering of people, have caused trouble to the neigh- bors and caused some security risks to the community. So it’s unfair to some people, especially innocent neighbors. From the article, it seems “the city council seemed ready to pull the plug.” But is this really use- ful? Banning all things can be difficult to achieve. Reasonable and effective regulation is prob- ably the better strategy. Public opinion and sound legal solu- tions can produce a good result. I hope that the guests will re- ceive benefits, the renters will receive extra income, the neigh- bors will be respected, the city will receive tax, and an all-win situation will be realized. Jane Shao Tustin Time won't wait Dear Editor: “You’ll die of old age, but we’ll die of climate change,” is the message of some signs held by young climate protesters. They’re right, of course. But in reality, many people of all ages are already experiencing shorter lifespans due to global warming. Hotter temperatures cause in- creased air pollution, which can cause and aggravate respiratory diseases like asthma and emphy- sema, and can lead to heart at- tacks and early death. When I worked in emergency rooms, I personally witnessed and treated patients unable to breathe without medical inter- vention. Many suffered from the increased air pollution caused by wildfires and drought conditions. Air pollution has often been so toxic that we have been warned to not use wood-burning fire- places and stay indoors. There is much that each of us, as individuals, can do to combat the harmful and deadly effects of the climate emergency. First, since other developed countries with universal health- care have longer lifespans, we can urge U.S. Rep. Lou Correa CA46 to join Rep. Katie Por- ter CA45 and others to support Medicare for All to provide ev- eryone with needed medical treatment. We can also choose to improve our health and save the planet for future generations by reducing or eliminating meat and dairy from our diets. That would cut back on greenhouse gas emissions from the animals, but also from fos- sil fuels used in transportation of livestock and feed that contribute to global warming. If everyone in this country limited just one meal a day to plant-based foods, it would greatly reduce our con- tribution to increased global tem- peratures. We can also tell Reps. Cor- rea and Porter to sign on to the Green New Deal, a nationwide plan that includes switching our country from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy from solar and wind power. That healthier and less expensive form of en- ergy would be available to all of us represented by city councils if we demand that they pursue community choice energy. Since fossil fuels, especially those used in transportation, cause much of the greenhouse gas emissions, we can slow down and even halt the dirty energy in- dustry by divesting from mutual funds and retirement plans that include oil, gas and coal in their portfolios. Even more effective, is to take our money from the banks that finance the mainte- nance and construction of oil and gas pipelines. Thousands of climate scientists around the world inform us that we have only about 10 years left to reduce greenhouse gas emis- sions before we reach the tipping point, at which time human in- tervention is no longer possible to stop the sixth mass extinction. This is a matter of life and death, especially for our young, and the future generations to come. The time to act is now. Bill Honigman, M.D. North Tustin CANYON BEAT By Janet Wilson By Scott Breeden The light in the forest invented for a reason. Safety measures Engineering standards design guidelines state that street lights may be unnecessary on roads where the speed limit is below 30 mph—headlights are sufficient. Studies have also shown that in- creased light does not affect acci- dent or crime rates. Despite this, though, people who are used to the glare of excess light some- times “feel safer,” even though they aren’t. Government agencies may also “feel safer” following standards previously adopted elsewhere. But Bob Parks, founder of the nonprofit Smart Outdoor Light- ing Alliance, writes: “Lighting that introduces glare in order to meet uniformity goals defeats the basic function of lighting.” If fear of the dark is the bogey- man of some residents, fear of lawsuits may be the bogeyman of some bureaucrats. Bob Parks again: “The fear of litigation con- tinues to dictate public policy. ... The kicker is that there is also no evidence that any litigation based on illumination levels has ever re- sulted in a legal judgment against a municipality. Ever. Anywhere.” Forward LED street lights, more like Silverado’s old lights, are avail- able. If necessary, Orange County could specify their use via an ordinance similar to San Diego County’s 2009 light pollution ordinance. Since this would im- prove safety on Silverado Can- yon Road, liability costs should decrease. Perhaps the savings would cover the cost of the eight light bulbs. News flashes A celebration of life for Sil- verado’s summer concert an- nouncer Caryn “Dance Like No- body’s Watching” Brinegar will occur Sun., March 8 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the community center. The whole canyon is invited. The Silverado-Modjeska Rec- reation and Parks and District will offer rattlesnake aversion training for dogs on March 15 in Modjes- ka, and April 5 in Silverado. Springing forth Small roadside flowers now include purple lupines and/or or- ange poppies, depending on the road. OC Public Works appar- ently admired the white ceano- thus and wild cucumber blossoms along Silverado Canyon Road so much that they harvested them by the truckload, leaving fresh grav- el in return. Even last year’s weeds can be recycled into handsome flo- ral centerpiece arrangements, as demonstrated recently at Waste Management’s Silverado/Ladd A charcoal portrait demonstra- tion by Jeff Horn will be present- ed at the March 11 meeting of the Tustin Art League. Jeff Horn is Professor Emeritus of Drawing and Painting at Ir- vine Valley College. He exhibits his outdoor landscape paintings at the Laguna Festival of the Arts each summer, and has received several honors for landscape painting. His paintings are part of the permanent collection of the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts, and Laguna Canyon Foun- dation and the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. The art league meets from 7 to 9 p.m. in the TUSD boardroom, 300 S. C St. The public is welcome. Tustin Art League presents charcoal demo The new issue of TUSD School News “Roll Call” magazine is now available. Find the February- March edition at all school sites, District Office, Maintenance & Operations, Tustin Library, Tus- tin Museum, Tustin Chamber of Commerce and local businesses, or visit schoolnewsrollcall.com/ pdf_cats/tustin-unified. Let the school times roll! Creek occasional al fresco café and furniture outlet. “Why pay Ikea prices?”.