That’s apparently what happened last week when, after five years of on-again, off-again hearings, the proposed outdoor lighting ordinance was put off indefinitely for the umpteenth time. The chairman of the Public Works and Traffic Committee, Mike Molina, said he was ready to put the current proposal to a vote even though he recognized "that it is somewhat controversial" with just enough objections to make certain council members nervous.
Council Chairman Dain Kane, who may be running for mayor in 2006, asked the measure be deferred until the "new" council organizes for the new term beginning Jan. 2. The council probably will reorganize but it is definitely not a "new" council. Eight incumbents are back where they have been for two or more years, and the ninth council member is the very experienced aide to outgoing Council Member Wayne Nishiki.
The apparent reason for the deferral was the Maui Hotel Association’s proposed alternative ordinance, a model outdoor lighting bill being worked up by something called the International Dark-Sky Association. The model isn’t even expected to be finished until May.
Maui’s sky is growing ever brighter, blotting out stars and making it increasingly difficult to justify the island’s standing as a world-class astronomical research site. Astronomer Richard Wainscoat said a "very precious resource is being stolen from the people of Maui."
There is no place on Maui where the sky is truly dark. "You have to go to the Big Island" for that, he said.
During five long years, an attempt was made to draft an ordinance that everyone would support. In the process, the bill became a classic example of wanting the perfect at the expense of the good. It could also be an example of savvy politicians protecting future campaign contributions from groups who object to changing their lighting.