Vista Redonda

Please preserve our night sky. One of the greatest advantages we have living in a place like Vista Redonda is a spectacular view of the night sky but only if we are careful enough to preserve it. We all need artificial light to live comfortably and safely at night. The trick is, how much light is enough to meet our needs and what are the best ways to manage it? Whenever we use too much light or don't direct or shield it properly, we create light pollution and that can have lots of negative effects such as sky-glow, glare, light trespass, disrupted ecosystems and energy waste.

Sky-glow is the brightened sky that results from too much artificial light at night. It obscures the night sky, making it harder to see the stars and planets. In Vista Redonda, if you look south toward the city lights of Santa Fe you can easily see the effects of sky-glow. Looking in that direction we see fewer and fewer stars as our line of sight moves closer to the horizon.

Across the country, because sky-glow is now so prevalent, two out of three Americans can no longer see the Milky Way. Glare is an even greater concern in Vista Redonda. Glare is caused by misdirected, unshielded or excessive light. It can have a blinding effect. Sometimes it can be so great that it partially obscures our view of the stars. And even when stars are visible, glare can be distracting and spoil the aesthetic experience of viewing the night sky.

Light trespass occurs when light from one property spills into and illuminates a neighbor's yard or house interior. Imagine a bright spotlight that lights your neighbor's driveway, but is so strong that it shines into your bedroom, making it hard to sleep. That's light trespass.

Vista Redonda Architectural Standards offer guidance to help protect the night sky:

"In keeping with the rural nature of the area, driveway, walkway and exterior house
illumination should be of a subdued nature. Architectural approval shall be required for all exterior lighting, whether installed at the time of initial construction or added later.

Specifically, all lights on and around your building(s), whether for general illumination, tennis court use, landscape illumination, etc. must be designed and mounted so that they DO NOT SHINE INTO NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES. In some cases, low horizontal illumination lights should be used, but in all cases illumination must not extend more than fifty (50) feet from your building(s), and no fixtures may be installed wherein the illuminating bulb and/or reflector is visible from other properties, EXCEPT FOR security lights USED ONLY IN RARE ALARMS OR EMERGENCIES."