Create state and local outdoor lighting codes

Establishing quality requirements for outdoor lighting is an effective way to protect state and local character, enhance visual safety, and mitigate the harmful effects of light pollution.

DarkSky International has created free policy templates for lawmakers, municipal officials, and community advocates to assist in drafting U.S. state laws and local municipal codes that support responsible outdoor nighttime lighting. These templates are grounded in our Five Principles of Responsible Outdoor Lighting at Night and were written in collaboration with industry professionals, lighting designers, environmental ecologists, and city planners. The templates use appropriate terminology and a flexible structure that align with legislative standards and preserve unique state and local policy, making them suitable for enactment.  

To facilitate our advocate’s efforts and the creation of local municipal code, DarkSky offers a review process for draft ordinances to verify that the appropriate outdoor lighting requirements are met. This review is designed to help ensure that draft language meets proven outdoor lighting objectives and maintains proper terminology so proposed code is enforceable. Additionally, there is a DarkSky Recognized program for municipalities, which rewards and highlights communities for having enacted appropriate and effective outdoor lighting policies.

Creating municipal law

City, county and other municipal forms of government possess an in-depth understanding of local character and have the ability to enact and enforce quality outdoor lighting requirements. Municipalities that adopt responsible outdoor lighting code will benefit from better quality lighting and improved environmental conditions within and outside of their communities.

Step one: How to get involved

Step one towards creating local outdoor lighting codes is to investigate if your local municipality has an existing outdoor lighting ordinance/bylaw or adopted code. This can usually be done quickly with a web search or phone call to the city/township administration office. If you live locally and don’t know the answer, it’s a good indication that either one does not exist, or the community does not promote one. If one does not exist, we recommend contacting your local elected officials and engage them in a conversation about adding outdoor lighting requirements to the code that align with other nearby local towns or even regional destination cities admired for their DarkSky advocacy.

Step two:  Getting prepared

Download the DarkSky Municipal Code for Outdoor Lighting template. If outdoor lighting requirements already exist for your municipality, compare them to the updated DarkSky template and identify areas that are different. The template is a collection of best practices based on Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting that are proven to be effective against light pollution. When ready, meet with other local advocates and stakeholders to build a broad base of support for the proposed draft.

Training videos

Video 1: Targeted lighting

Video 2: Light levels

Video 3: Lighting curfew

Video 4: Correlated color temperature (CCT)

Video 5: Outdoor sports lighting

Step three: Take action

Submit your draft ordinance to a local elected official and ask if now is the appropriate time for a code update. Welcome and recommend professional lighting experts to be consulted when needed and volunteer your time to help educate the community on responsible outdoor lighting.

Step four: DarkSky review and recognition

Submit your draft ordinance to DarkSky for a formal review using our DarkSky municipal code review program. For a modest fee, we will review the draft ordinance for compliance with the template objectives and ensure that the vocabulary and requirements are correct. After your ordinance has been enacted or adopted, you can apply to have it DarkSky Recognized, which results in having the municipality and its code on the DarkSky website in recognition of it reaching this achievement.  Learn more about our DarkSky Recognized Municipal Code program.

Creating state/territory law

Federal, state, and provincial laws demonstrate leadership in larger territories and set an example for the importance of drafting appropriate and effective outdoor lighting requirements. Working with these government entities can be very rewarding, as the positive impacts of state-sponsored responsible outdoor lighting measures help to influence municipalities within them and can expand to greater protection of the regional environment.

Step one: How to get involved

Step one towards creating or updating state or territory law is to investigate if the government entity has an existing statute regarding outdoor lighting. This can usually be done quickly with a web search. If one does not exist and you wish to advocate for the benefits of responsible outdoor lighting, you will need plenty of help and patience as you navigate the political process. We recommend connecting with a local DarkSky chapter and identifying partner organizations that have supported similar legislation to better understand the process and the people involved at this state/territory level. Together, advocates can work together to determine what steps and prior actions have been taken to get this topic in front of legislators.

Step two: Getting prepared

A thorough understanding of the state/territory government structure is needed as you prepare to move forward. For instance, in the United States with bicameral assemblies, ideas for bills can be submitted to a legislative chamber by either a senator or a representative. Whatever the form of government, it’s important to identify who you might know, who your local representatives are, and whether it is good timing within the term limits of an election cycle to bring the proposal forward. We recommend gaining a broad coalition of support for the legislation with bipartisan co-sponsorship if you can identify entities that will work well together.

Download the State Act for Responsible Outdoor Lighting template to begin advancing statewide legislation. You can also download the DarkSky State Legislation Introduction, which provides a concise and compelling overview of responsible outdoor lighting and the need for legislative action.

The introduction letter is designed to be brief enough to read quickly, yet strong enough to capture attention. It serves as a helpful tool when introducing yourself and the topic of responsible outdoor lighting during initial meetings with state or territory legislators.

Step three: Take action

Once a legislative representative is interested, they will generally assign the work to legislative bill writers that will attempt to draft requirement language for sponsorship. Download the DarkSky State Act for Responsible Outdoor Lighting for appropriate vocabulary and effective and reasonable requirements based on the Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting. Work with representatives and writers to draft language that meets the criteria within the template. Bringing legislation to the floor of a legislative chamber for a vote can take years, so again, we recommend a larger group of advocates and partner organizations follow up with legislators to request support and approval for the measure.