Sheriff May Cite Firms Failing to Cut Energy Use

Within weeks, the Sheriff’s Department will begin limited enforcement of a new policy by Gov. Gray Davis that requires retail businesses to dim their lights during off-hours to help ease the state’s energy crisis.

Despite reservations over the policy, Sheriff Bob Brooks said Tuesday deputies will respond to complaints on excessive lighting beginning in mid-March, and could even issue $1,000 citations to a business that fails to heed a warning.

“We realize it’s a hardship and people are trying to comply,” Brooks said. That’s why “we’d rather fix than enforce” by giving warnings, he added.

Some local businesses applauded the conservation measure, saying they have already found ways to cut some of their energy use. Others worried that Davis’ recent executive order could lead to higher crime and diminished safety.

“When are they going to have time to police [businesses], versus dealing with crime?” asked Zoe Taylor, president of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce. “Where do you draw the line in relationship to security?”

But Brooks and other government officials said deputies would not become de facto conservation warriors.

“We’re not trying to establish the ‘power police’ here,” Supervisor Frank Schillo said. “We’ve always done things in a cooperative way in Ventura County.”

Brooks said the state mandate would be dealt with as an education issue, and that deputies would not be patrolling for energy offenders. Deputies would respond only to complaints at specific businesses, he said. Most companies would most likely comply without the threat of citations as soon as the policy goes into effect, he said, adding that fines would be rare.

“The mechanics of how you deal with a violation are very unclear” in the governor’s order, he said. “You would almost have to subpoena business records” to determine whether a retailer was not dimming to 50% of its regular energy usage, as requested.

“When you look at the priority of other concerns, that’s not at the top,” Brooks said.

The governor’s intent is not “to collect massive fines but to conserve as much energy as possible,” said Byron Tucker, a Davis spokesman. “We want to raise awareness among auto dealers and have them do their part.”

Auto dealers said they were aware of the energy crisis but concerned that dimmer lights would encourage crime.

Andy Robles, general manager at Thousand Oaks Toyota, said his lot has already had a Land Cruiser stolen, and he worries if it’s too dark more vehicles could be lost.

“If you didn’t have the lights on, I don’t think even the Police Department would be willing to be around here,” he said of his location on Thousand Oaks Boulevard between the auto mall and City Hall.

Lexus of Oxnard General Manager Lawrence Lee, who is president of the Oxnard Auto Center, said his dealership hasn’t yet dimmed its lights, but would gladly do so. But he said there are concerns over safety: “We haven’t had anything happen recently, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.”

Neighbors of the auto center in El Rio said they looked forward to reduced lighting in their area, but said it was crucial that their community not get too dark.

“They could probably turn some lights off, but I wouldn’t want to see them gone,” resident Eleanor Branthoover said. “The officers need to be able to see too. . . . For now, I’m hoping this won’t make it so dark it becomes a hazard.”

At Pacific View Mall in Ventura, retailers are ahead of the game in conserving because of new technology that came with the recent mall renovation, said Alice Love, the center’s marketing manager.

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Times staff writer Tina Dirmann contributed to this story.