The following information was distributed to the membership of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce:"The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the existing City of Las Cruces Lighting Ordinance , Ord. No. 1813, which was adopted Aug. 7, 2000.
"The city will hold a meeting about the lighting ordinance from 5 to 7 p.m. at City Hall, 200 Water St. All Chamber members are encouraged to attend to show their support for the existing ordinance.
"According to (former Mayor) Bill Mattiace, Chamber vice president of governmental affairs, the board decided to support the existing ordinance because it has been adequately received from business owners, residential housing and astronomers for the past 10 years.
“We feel the current ordinance has generated good, steady business for Las Cruces,” Mattiace said.
"The decision of support comes after a recommendation by the Chamber’s Issues and Governmental Affairs Committee that took several months to study the issue.
“We’ve worked on this over several meetings, and we’ve met with Mark Eisler and Councillor Sharon Thomas as well as Oscar Andrade about the pros and cons,” Mattiace said. “In this current economic climate, this would be the worst regulatory thing we could do to business owners.”
"Mattiace added that beyond to additional costs to existing businesses, a more restrictive ordinance would make Las Cruces less desirable to new businesses considering the area. Former Las Cruces Police Chief Pete Hampton, who also serves on the committee, cited safety issues that many businesses might face without proper lighting for their staff and customers as another reason to support the existing ordinance.
"The current lighting ordinance can be found at the City of Las Cruces website at http://www.las-cruces.org/legal/city_clerk/codes/Development%20Code/CH039%20-%20Chapter%2039%20%20OUTDOOR%20LIGHTING.htm.
For more information on this call the Chamber, call 524-1968 or visit www.lascruces.org
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