Retailers that don’t cut back their outdoor lighting by half after hours come March 15 may find themselves facing misdemeanor charges and a $1,000 fine per violation under an executive order signed by Gov. Gray Davis in January.
The new regulations have been voluntary since January, but this month the California Highway Patrol and sheriff’s departments in Orange and eight other counties will begin to monitor retail businesses after hours and cite violators.
But local retailers and the governor’s office say compliance has been good so far.
“Californians for the most part have done their part to conserve energy. Businesses have stepped up to the plate,” said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for Davis.
Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Michael S. Carona said voluntary compliance by local retailers has been good so far. He hasn’t had to arrest anyone, Carona said with a smile.
“We started turning off our lights after 9:30 p.m. even before he said it to do it, in order to save some costs on electricity,” said Ray Beshoff, district vice president of AutoNation Southern California, operator of 49 new-car dealership franchises, including the House of Imports in Buena Park. The car dealerships, like several other retailers, also have reduced indoor showroom lighting during business hours.
The Irvine Company, which operates roughly 30 shopping centers, including the Irvine Spectrum Center, Fashion Island and The Market Place, also has dimmed its outdoor lighting ahead of the deadline.
In December, the Irvine Spectrum Center began reducing its parking lot lighting after midnight during the week and after 3 a.m. on weekends. It also turned off completely its ambient lighting in Dorado Court and its Sky-Tracker lights, and cut back the hours for its various neon lights. The skylights are expected to resume again soon during business hours.
Other centers such as Fashion Island and The Market Place have reduced parking lot lighting, parking structure lighting, signage, landscaping and accent lighting during non-business hours.
But some of the company’s 27 neighborhood centers have systems that do not allow for selective turn-offs and some centers have 24-hour tenants that require all-night lighting for security purposes, the company said.
Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of marketing at South Coast Plaza, said its lighting has been reduced in several areas.
“We definitely have turned back as much as we can without impacting safety and we are in compliance with the governor’s orders, but it’s not that much different than we had been operating,” she said.
Garth Blumenthal of Fletcher Motorcars in Newport Beach, said his company’s auto lot always has turned down its lights at 10 p.m., but it must keep an eye on its employees’ safety as well as the safety of its inventory.
“We complied long before the executive order because of requirements of our neighbors and to be good citizens of Newport Beach and the state of California,” he said. “We want to try to help avoid rolling blackouts.”
Outdoor entertainment centers such as the mammoth Block at Orange have more need for lighting than other shopping centers, but nevertheless the center has adjusted its lighting during non-business hours, said Greg Keil, director of facilities.
The center used to keep its lights on until roughly 3 a.m., but now during the week lighting is reduced to safety lighting beginning at around 11 p.m. and at 1:30 a.m. on weekends.
Bob Sandelman of Sandelman & Associates, a retail research firm, said a company’s signage is a necessary form of advertising and expects there could potentially be some resistance to the governor’s order.
“If they have to turn off the main signs for their business this could hurt them,” he said. “There’s a lot of brand awareness or reinforcement that comes from people driving by, say, a restaurant. Every time they drive by and see the sign it’s another brand awareness registration in people’s minds. It helps keep the brand top-of-mind.”
So what is the governor’s office planning to do about office building lighting or other businesses?
“We are attacking this on many different fronts, but it would be extremely difficult to enforce” compliance in office buildings, Salazar said. n
