Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder on Monday suggested making the dates of St. Augustine’s annual Nights of Lights festival permanent by codifying them in city code, a move she said could curb recurring debates over the event’s duration.
Blonder raised the issue during a City Commission meeting Monday while discussing an upcoming report on this year’s festival, scheduled for February.
She asked that it include options for formally establishing the start and end dates through ordinance rather than continuing to rely on resolutions that can change from year to year.
“Get that into city code so that we can avoid going back and forth on dates every single year,” Blonder said. “We’ve got work to do. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and spending a lot of time going back and forth on dates, whether I win or lose on this issue, we should encode it and clarify it.”
The suggestion follows a lengthy and sometimes contentious debate last year, when commissioners voted to trim the festival’s run.
Some residents argue the event has grown out of hand and should be curtailed, citing quality-of-life impacts during the busy holiday season.
Business owners counter that Nights of Lights is essential to the city’s economic health, drawing visitors and supporting local commerce.
During Monday’s discussion, City Manager David Birchim said that the city code currently sets “bookend” dates for the festival, an approach that has allowed for changes within that window.
Commissioner Jim Springfield indicated his support for Blonder’s proposal on Monday.
