Air carrier Captain reported LED lighting at the Coyote Point Recreation Area underneath a 4 to 5 mile final to SFO Runway 28L '...destroys night vision...'

Narrative

This is to report a safety hazard that has really grown since the advent of LED lighting; with the extreme example I observed on final to 28L in SFO really underscoring the need for the FAA to become involved in corrective action. There is a lighting installation on that approach; apparently associated with the Coyote Point Recreation area; that really drives the issue home. The unbelievably excessive uplighting from that area destroys night vision; and I think constitutes the worst of example of the growing trend that I've seen to date. Once night vision is impacted; it can take several minutes for it to recover. These lights are too close to the runway to allow complete recovery. LED lighting is very efficient and cheap to produce; so there is little economic incentive to use it judiciously and efficiently. All lights seen from the air are 100% wasted light; since none of the light that allows you to see them from the air is hitting the ground. Early roadway lighting manuals addressed these issues; but as lighting has gotten cheaper and easier to produce; our designs have become sloppier and sloppier; culminating in the extreme example on the approach in to 28L in SFO. The FAA really needs to get involved in seeing to it that all lighting within 5 miles of the approach end of a runway complies with IESA (Illuminating Engineering Society of America) specifications for Fully Shielded lighting; or B and G ratings of 0-1 under the BUG (Backlight Uplight Glare) system.