Southtowns Record

350 QUAKER ROAD

Government
Town of Aurora
Board
Zoning Board of Appeals
Meeting
Sep 17, 2026
Kind
Other
Topics
Zoning and land use, Budget and taxes, Roads and traffic, Water, sewer and drainage, Parks and recreation, Housing

Original document

Same meeting

Text · page 9 of 29

This document was a scan. Its text was produced by character recognition and may contain errors; check the original for exact wording.

2. The Aging Eye and the Danger of Facial Recognition Failure

The average age in our community ranges from 73 to 76. Physiological studies
show that older adults require significantly higher vertical contrast to distinguish
moving objects and recognize faces at night.

lf we transition to fully shielded fixtures, at our current lamppost heights, we are
drastically dropping the vertical foot-candles (the light that hits a standing body).
This creates a dangerous optical environment for seniors:

  e  Inter-visibility Failure: a driver turning a tight corner will not be able to see
  the upper body of a resident in time to brake.
  e  Security & Anxiety: Residents walking at dusk will no longer be able to
  recognize the faces of oncoming people, significantly decreasing the actual
  and perceived security of our private roads.

Our current system strikes the perfect balance: our solid top prevents light
pollution into the night sky, while our translucent light fixture panels provide the
vital horizontal throw needed to keep human bodies illuminated and visible.

  3. The Legal Liability of Changing a Proven System

From a legal and liability exposure perspective, changing our infrastructure poses
a major risk to the Condominium for three reasons:

  e  No History of Negligence: Our current lighting system works well within our
  local laws (producing no more than 1.23 foot-candles at 10 feet, safely
  below the municipal 2.0 foot-candle nuisance threshold). In the history of
  our Condominium, we have had zero lighting-related accidents.
  e  Creating a Known Hazard: If the Condominium modifies these lights to a
  fully shielded design, and a resident is subsequently struck by a vehicle
  because their upper body was hidden in a shielding shadow, the
  Board/Condominium can be sued for creating a known visual hazard.

  SEE  ATTACH  HS