Two giant steps in SV
The Sun Valley City Council took
the city two giant steps forward last week.
First, the council adopted a Dark
Skies Ordinance that calls for shielded lighting everywhere within the
city. Sun Valley is the third city in the valley to regulate lighting in
order to protect the view of the canopy of stars visible here at night.
Such views have become a rarity in
the nation’s heavily developed cities. The views of the Milky Way’s
twinkling majesty is something every valley visitor takes home with them
and most residents hold dear.
Second, the council approved an
agreement that will ensure partial public access to the 18-hole private
golf course at the Elkhorn Golf Club. The course owner, CG Elkhorn Golf,
agreed to guarantee up to 20 percent of the daily rounds of golf to the
public. Public play will be restricted to afternoons after 2 p.m. all
summer and after 12 noon in the spring and fall. Nonmembers may be
bumped from a tee time if a member wants it.
The agreement looks a little like
the fine print on airline seat discounts and the percentage is not all
that golfers and the business community hoped for. But given that the
city has no regulations that control golf courses, the agreement may be
the best the city could get from a company bent on privatization.
All in all, it was a good week’s
work.