Buda’s sustainability commission is seeking Dark Sky status in a new effort to reduce light pollution and reduce the amount of taxpayer dollars spent, but a new bill designed to encourage dark sky communities is being challenged.
House bill 2439, authored by House Representative Erin Zwiener, provides building restriction exemptions for current Dark Sky communities. However, Buda sustainability commissioner Blake Farrar is uncertain if the bill includes exemptions for communities seeking Dark Sky status.
“It seems like HB 2439 was intended to encourage dark sky communities and provide them some exemptions in the building restrictions, but it seems like that language was geared towards existing dark sky communities. There might be a question if those exemptions apply to communities seeking dark sky status, so the city and I hope to work with Erin Zwiener and others to clarify the language and make sure cities like Buda can move forward with our dark sky initiative,” Farrar said.
During a recent town hall with Zwiener, Farrar asked her to clarify the language in the bill and said they are working together to make sure the city of Buda continues within state law.
An additional road bump, also caused by a recent bill, has made it difficult to fund Dark Sky status. The bill as passed would allow a city to use its hotel tax to incentivize businesses to follow low light emission standards. Buda, however, does not fit the population requirements to use its hotel tax.
“Unfortunately, it was geared more towards smaller communities. Buda is a large city, not in that bracket, so we would have to come up with more creative ways to incentivize. For new developments and neighborhoods, we could include lighting incentives within the development agreements,” Farrar said.
No timeline for Buda’s Dark Sky status is in place because the Sustainability Commission is trying to clarify state laws. Farrar said that despite the speed bumps, the city will continue to pursue dark sky status for the benefit of the community and surrounding environment.
