Businesses working to avoid fines

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT-MESA -- As the state’s energy crisis deepens, area businesses

are looking for ways to cut power usage as they brace for higher bills --

and maybe even $1,000 fines.

For the past three weeks, Metro Car Wash owner Frank Bianchini said he

has reduced nighttime outdoor lighting at his Costa Mesa business by

nearly 20%. Bianchini has also shut off one of the four motors that power

the scrubbers and other equipment at his Harbor Boulevard carwash.

“If you drive down Harbor at night, it looks like Las Vegas,”

Bianchini said about the city’s strip of automobile dealers. “We took all

of the outdoor lighting off the timer, and they haven’t been going on [at

night], not for three weeks.”

At Theodore Robins Ford, also in Costa Mesa, owner Bob Robins has

considered installing skylights in the auto service area to reduce energy

use. The dealership also could shift to bare-bones security lighting just

to keep potential thieves away from the automobiles.

“We can certainly cut down to the minimum,” Robins said. “We do not

leave all of our lights on throughout the night.”

Bianchini, Robins and other Newport-Mesa businesses could find a bit

more incentive to reduce power after an executive order from Gov. Gray

Davis on Thursday. As part of an $800-million conservation plan, Davis

proposed fining businesses that refuse to cut back on after-hours

lighting.

The details have yet to be set in stone, but Davis said businesses

could face fines of up to $1,000 per violation if they don’t reduce their

“maximum outdoor lighting” after business hours, Davis spokesman Roger

Salazar said.

“The governor must develop a plan by Friday on how they’re going to

implement this,” Salazar said. “We’re not talking about pitch-black

darkness. We’re talking about a reduction.”

The California Retailers Assn. has endorsed Davis’ proposal, Salazar

said.

The retailers may be on board, but Assemblyman John Campbell

(R-Irvine), who owns a car dealership, has criticized Davis’ power

penalties. Campbell said local law enforcement would be diverted from

more serious crimes to act as “the light police.”

“It’s not going to solve the problem,” Campbell said of Davis’ plan.

“Instead of finding real solutions, he finds public relations acts that

don’t help.”

While Davis fleshes out his directive, Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce

Executive Director Ed Fawcett has been getting out the word on

conservation. In a Feb. 5 newsletter to members, Fawcett advised

businesses about the governor’s plan.

“I’m trying to put the information in front of them with the

encouragement to conserve,” Fawcett said. “Inevitably, the electricity

rates are going up.”