Jill Schramm/MDN Bob Thomas speaks to the Minot City Council Monday regarding his concerns about the Minot Downtown Business & Professional Association’s ornamental lighting.

A dispute over downtown ornamental lighting landed in the lap of a Minot City Council that was reluctant to take sides Monday.

“This seems to be a ‘Whose property rights are more important’ type question, and I don’t know if that’s really in our purview to decide,” council member Rob Fuller said. “Shouldn’t this be between two private property owners dealing with it and talking about it, rather than getting the city involved and us having to figure this out?”

The dispute entails a complaint filed by downtown property owner and resident Bob Thomas over the ornamental lighting installed across the street by the Minot Downtown Business & Professional Association (DBPA).

Thomas urged the city council to consider whether the lights are appropriate for downtown and whether they conform to modern standards for commercial buildings and guidelines of DarkSky International.

“I have special interest in these lights because they’re aimed directly in my living room and my dining room and my bedroom,” he said. “They’re bright and they flash. They change colors. They simulate movement. It’s kind of like when you’re coming into an airport and there’s strobing lights.”

He said the lights interfere with security cameras and can jeopardize the safety of downtown if people are forced to pull their shades rather than keep an eye on the neighborhood from their windows.

“Whatever you decide to do, the lights should be turned off now, at least until they’re approved by a qualified engineer,” Thomas told the council. “That’s all I’m asking. That’s all I ever asked for is just have a qualified engineer look at this, and they will tell you these are terrible lights and they’re not appropriate under modern standards.”

With the permission of property owners, the DBPA hired Pretty Lights to install decorative lights on buildings in the 100 block of South Main. It has plans to install more lighting throughout the downtown as funds are raised to do so.

Derek Hackett, an owner in Pretty Lights, said Pretty Lights has installed lighting in numerous communities, including placing lights similar to those in downtown Minot on commercial buildings in other cities.

“Never have we had really this kind of pushback on something like this. And we have these lights specifically because they do conform to a lot of DarkSky ordinances,” he said. He added the lights in downtown Minot are angled downward to diffuse the light emissions.

Because the lights were installed at a height greater than 16 feet, city ordinance gives the community development director the ability to review and approve lighting design.

In response to Thomas’s concerns, Community Development Director Brian Billingsley imposed an 11 p.m. shut-off time for the lights. While Thomas has indicated 11 p.m. is too late, the association argues it is too early with the late sunsets in the summer. Billingsley said his decision was based on the city’s noise ordinance that limits noise after 11 p.m.

“I want to work with the DBPA. I want to work with the property owners who live downtown. I was placed in a no-win situation here, and I made the best decision I can make with information I had available to me in trying to accommodate the needs and wants of both parties,” Billingsley said.

Council member Mike Blessum said an ordinance that puts the community development director in that awkward position makes no sense. He also suggested the ordinance leaves unclear how to handle specific situations.

“I think the real question is, is this something that we do feel requires an ordinance adjustment to be more clear,” he said, “or is it actually working as designed because it’s working through this specific issue.”

City Manager Harold Stewart favored the latter.

“This ordinance right now is working the way it’s supposed to. When these conflicts happen, they get attention. We bring it to either staff or, worst case scenario, we up it to the council and you give us direction, in essence, whose property right is going to succeed in this dispute at this point, because you’re not going to be able to make both of them happy.”

The ordinance doesn’t specifically give the city council the authority to hear appeals of decisions by the community development director. Nor does it enable the council to set the rules for how to handle lighting when disputes occur.

Stewart suggested the best course might be to take the city out of the equation.

“Perhaps we remove this from ordinance and let it be a civil matter between property owners,” he said.

Denise Lindbo, owner of Gourmet Chef downtown, said merchants just want resolution to the dispute.

“It puts a lot of stress on the things that we’re trying to do downtown. We’re trying to create a vibrant, fun atmosphere downtown. Our livelihoods depend on it,” she said.