AGENDA #5b
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Citizen Petition – Street Lighting on Mt. Bolus Road
DATE: February 24, 2003
The purpose of this report is to respond to a petition presented by Mr. Will Raymond, resident of 209 Mt. Bolus Road, to the Town Council at its meeting on November 11, 2002. In that petition, Mr. Raymond requested that the Town ask Duke Power Company to relocate the street light presently adjacent his property line and that they use a full cutoff shield fixture to reduce the lighting that reaches his residence. We believe the present installation conforms to Town policies and recommend no further action.
BACKGROUND
Mr. Raymond had previously petitioned the Town and requested that we refrain from having Duke Power Company replace a street light and to refrain from adding lights on Mt. Bolus Road (please see attached memorandum to the Mayor and Town Council dated August 26, 2002). In our response, we concluded that the Mt. Bolus Road neighborhood qualifies for the light in question and additional lighting in three locations based on existing Town policy. We also considered results from a survey we completed in that neighborhood in response to Mr. Raymond’s original concerns about the lighting in his neighborhood and requests from other residents to increase lighting. These results supported additional lighting.
DISCUSSION
We contacted Duke Power Company and discussed Mr. Raymond’s request for use of a cutoff shield. A shield attaches to the lighting arm just behind the light itself so as to reduce lighting in the direction of the residence. The utility advised us that their policy did not allow such use, nor would they agree to such installation by a third party on their fixtures. They also advised that the cutoff lens presently in use is their standard full cutoff lens for residential neighborhoods. It is designed to assure that most lighting is directed onto the street and to minimize the amount of lighting on private property.
With respect to relocation of the present light, we believe our original recommendation to leave the light in its present location best meets the overall needs of the neighborhood and is consistent with Town policy. We know from previous contact with residents and follow-up discussion with nearby neighbors that there is disagreement among the residents with respect to the street light in question. In fact, after we had the light removed initially, some of the neighbors requested that we have the light reinstalled.
RECOMMENDATION
Unless directed differently by the Council, we propose no change to the present location of the light adjacent to Mr. Raymond’s property.
ATTACHMENT