Light pollution debate: Don Dybus

NATALIE PAWELSKI: Everybody says Tucson is a place that has been able to cut down on light pollution but also allow for reasonable business practices. Do you agree?

DON DYBUS: I think the term "light pollution" is a misnomer because in the morning the sun comes up and burns it all off, and we're not really talking about any toxins. So it's an aesthetic thing for the general public. For the scientific community, it does have an impact because of the research that goes on here.

Tucson put a moratorium on new billboards back in 1985. The billboard business hasn't added to any of the problem in 17 years. We have a self-imposed deadline, and typically turn our billboards off at 11 p.m.

PAWELSKI: Why do you do that?

DYBUS: That's mainly as a courtesy, because the community at large, including the businesses, have accepted lighted billboards because we turn it off at 11 o'clock. It's meeting them halfway, so to speak.

PAWELSKI: In terms of lighting, sticking the lights on the top instead of the bottom seems so minor that it wouldn't matter. Can you explain that?

DYBUS: Well, the fixtures need to be completely retrofitted or replaced. That's expensive. The labor involved is costly. We also have some safety issues. Our crews often use hook ladders, and they fit to the top of the billboard. And if you have lights up there, and they're electric, they're juiced. Then you've got a chance of electrocution. So we're watching that very closely, and we can work around it. It takes more time to service the billboard when we change copy if the lights are at the top, so that means our labor costs go up. Over time, we do plan to move all the lights to the top. That's part of our settlement package with the city of Tucson.

PAWELSKI: Is there anything else that you want to address?

DYBUS: We really don't have the dialogue that we should have. There should be more meeting of the minds. Local governments, state legislators are lobbied to place restrictions on what we do. That creates conflict and litigation. These people who are petitioning to put these restrictions into place are typically not business people. So you have the non-business community making all the complaints. Well, maybe they ought to learn more about business, and share with us what their needs are, instead of running to the city council and saying they're bad, making them take down their billboards.