How bright? What if airline pilots were using the light display as a navigation landmark?

That's what some Santa Venetia residents who live near the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District plant are coping with on a nightly basis.

The sanitary district board, responding to complaints from neighbors, is looking into ways to tone down or shield the plant's security lighting from home-owners across the creek.

Good for them.

This may not be the most pressing issue facing local government, but for those residents, it's of vital interest.

Light pollution is an intrusion into the rural atmosphere that many Marin residents - even those who live in developed areas - treasure. Light pollution not only gets in the way of star-gazing, it also can intrude on habitat that borders the sprawling plant.

The district has called in a lighting expert to see what can be done to answer complaints that have generated a petition signed by 100 residents. District officials are wise to not take the issue lightly, given the number of signatures on that petition.

Russ Greenfield, a district director and a Santa Venetia resident, said, "I really think it's a win-win opportunity."

That's the right approach. And good public policy.

The district already was in the process of taking a new look at the plant's lighting. Concerns of neighbors should be taken into consideration along with security and energy efficiency.

Neighbors are already pleased with the district's responsiveness. That's a big step toward finding a solution that can everyone can live with.