CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM

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Department:

City Manager’s Office

Commission Meeting Date: Feb 20, 2018

Staff Contact:

Brandon McGuire

Recommendations/Options/Action Requested:

 

Consider request from Lawrence Alliance for Responsible Lighting pertaining to outdoor LED lighting installed in, or at the direction of, or owned by the City of Lawrence, including Westar lights.

 

 

Executive Summary:

During public comment at the November 21, 2017 City Commission meeting, representatives of the Lawrence Alliance for Responsible Lighting (LARL) requested that the Commission adopt an ordinance placing restrictions on the installation of outdoor light emitting diode (LED) fixtures owned by the City and Westar Energy. The request is motivated in part by the American Medical Association’s (AMA) issuance of guidelines on LEDs in June 2016. The requested restrictions relate to the Correlated Color Temperatures (CCT) of LEDs, as well as installation methods. For reference, (CCT) refers to the color appearance of LEDs and is measured in Kelvins (K). LARL’s request would limit the installation of LED fixtures to those with a CCT rating of 2700K and, in no case, more than 3000K.

 

The City recently completed the Facilities Conservation Improvement Program (FCIP) which involved converting hundreds of light fixtures to LED. Virtually all outdoor and indoor lighting owned by the City, including 1,200 streetlights, is fixed with LEDs rated at 4000K (more for ballfields). For the past three years Westar has also been transitioning High Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlights to 4000K LED.

 

City staff have facilitated meetings with representatives from LARL, Westar, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (United States Dept. of Energy). City staff has attached a summary of the issue to-date as well as a more extensive review of relevant information. Several documents submitted by LARL and Westar are also attached.

 

City staff does not refute the AMA’s position but acknowledges that the issue is complex from the perspective of both public health and science. The scientific community is rigorously researching and debating the science of the human circadian system and photosensitivity.

 

As written, LARL’s request would apply to all City-owned and Westar-owned outdoor lighting. Eventually all outdoor lighting facilities would be fitted with LED fixtures rated at 2,700K – 3,000K CCT. This would arbitrarily restrict the City’s application of internationally accepted best management practices for outdoor and roadway lighting. City staff participates in the development of these standards and guidelines through the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).  

 

The City lacks the regulatory authority to compel Westar to change its standards and rates. The Westar streetlight rate tariff applies a premium rate on nonstandard streetlight facilities and fixtures. Westar has advised that the request would require installation of nonstandard fixtures. The City spent $850,000 on streetlighting service in 2017. Although it is difficult to estimate a cost impact due to limited available information, staff estimates the potential for a significant cost impact to the City from the requested restrictions.

 

City staff advises against establishing the restrictions on LED outdoor lighting as requested by LARL.

  

Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor

 

Effective Governance/Professional Administration

 

Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source):

More information is needed to evaluate the full fiscal impact of LARL’s request.

Attachments:

1.    Request from Lawrence Alliance for Responsible Lighting

2.    American Medical Association Council on Science & Public Health (CSAPH) Report 2-A-16, Human and Environmental Effects of LED Community Lighting

3.    Illuminating Engineering Society Position Statement on AMA CSAPH Report 2-A-16, Human and Environmental Effects of LED Community Lighting

4.    Documents Shared by Lawrence Alliance for Responsible Lighting (LARL)

    1. Summary of LARL Presentation
    2. November 12, 2017 LARL Statement
    3. Article on Chicago Streetlighting
    4. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

5.    Documents Shared by Westar Energy

    1. Westar Overview of Streetlighting Studies

                                          i.    LARL Comments on Westar Overview of Streetlighting Studies

    1. Seattle LED Adaptive Lighting Study (Full Report)

                                          i.    Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Seattle Streetlight Study prepared by Clanton & Associates (Westar Selected Pages)

                                         ii.    LARL Comments on Seattle LED Streetlight Study

    1. Lighting Research Center Presentation on AMA LED Report
    2. Lighting Research Center Report on AMA LED Report
    3. National Electrical Manufacturers Association Comments on AMA LED Report

6.    Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department Summary of AMA Statement and Relevant Health Impact Assessments - updated 02/16/18

7.    Westar Streetlight Tariff with Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC)

    1. LARL Streetlight Tariff Informal Complaint to KCC
    2. Westar’s Response to LARL Streetlight Tariff Informal Complaint to KCC
    3. LARL’s Statement on Streetlight Tariff (emailed 01-29-2018)
    4. Westar Response to LARL Tariff Comments (emailed 02-05-2018)
    5. LARL Response to Westar Comments on Streetlight Tariff (emailed 02-09-2018)

8.    December 5, 2017 City Manager Report on LARL Request

9.    November 7, 2017 City Manager Report on LARL Request

10.  City Staff Memo: Review of discussions to-date on LED lighting

11.  City Staff Memo: Review of Information Related to LED related to City-owned and Westar-owned outdoor LED lighting

12.  Additional Technical Resources: Department of Energy Solid State Lighting Technology Fact Sheets

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewed By:

(for CMO use only)

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