Carpinteria City Council passes four proclamations

The Carpinteria City Council unanimously passed four proclamations during its Monday night meeting, designating April as DMV/Donate Life Month and Carpinteria Business Month, and the week of April 2 – 8, 2024, as International Dark Sky Week. The council also approved a proclamation congratulating the Community Awards Banquet on its 65th anniversary. 

The first proclamation aims to encourage Carpinterians to sign up to be organ donors at the DMV, highlighting the drastic need for live-saving organs in California and across the country and identifying the urgent need for donated organs within Hispanic, Latino and African American communities. 

“In recognition of National Donate Life Month, April 2024 is hereby designated as DMV/Donate Life Month in the city of Carpinteria and in doing so we encourage all California to check ‘YES!’ online, or when applying for or renewing their driver’s license or I.D. card at the DMV,” Mayor Al Clark read aloud from the proclamation. 

The second proclamation declared April to be Carpinteria Business Month, celebrating the city’s local businesses. The proclamation recognizes that “local businesses create significant private sector employment opportunities, ensuring the strength and competitiveness of the local workforce.” 

The third proclamation looks to preserve the natural beauty of the night sky by bringing attention to light pollution in the nighttime. It was prompted from the Carpinteria Valley Association (CVA), represented during Monday’s meeting by CVA President Mike Wondolowski. 

“The goal of this annual international event is to raise public awareness of the effects of light pollution and how simple it is to reduce it with responsible outdoor lighting,” Wondolowski said in a press release. 

“What is great is this is one of the rare forms of pollution that is completely reversible immediately – as soon as the light is turned off or pointed down, the pollution is gone, helping maintain the character of our small beach town,” he added. 

The proclamation also called for the city’s General Plan/Local Coastal Land Use Plans to account for ordinances that provide guidance for minimizing light pollution. 

The final proclamation recognized the 65th anniversary of the Community Awards Banquet, where local service organizations, businesses, teachers and students are recognized for their contributions to Carpinteria. The proclamation also “commend(ed) the new Carpinteria Community Association for its commitment to honor the spirit of Carpinteria.”