Not sure if imminent domain is the motive regarding this Idaho story. I’m not familiar with it.
But I can assure you, most folks who’d like to see dark skies preserved are not eco fascist pigs. They’d simply like to see lighting manufacturers produce light fixtures with light cut off shields. Very simple, design the light to direct the light downward where the light is intended, not up into the atmosphere. The results to night skies are obvious when they put up 200,000 street lights without shielding.
Think of that billboard at night along side the highway in the middle of nowhere. You can see them from 10+ miles away, even though you can’t read it until you get close to it. I’m sure you’ve seen them. They create their own mini light domes in the sky and nearly blind some drivers when they get close.
Now multiply that billboard light a thousand+ times in these big population centers. As a side note, they’re wasting tons of light, I mean ENERGY! It’s ridicules. With the right fixtures or inexpensive modifications they easily cut the power consumed/lost and still light the same area intended.
I can assure you, not everyone is an eco extremest.
A few years ago I had to inspect one of the LED billboards. Since it was 70 feet in the air, I got delivered by manlift. On the way up, I wondered why they didn’t turn it off. Even though these things light up for miles, two feet away, you only see pinpricks of dull light. Really weird