Residents, commissions urge Webster Groves to update lighting code to reduce glare and sky glow

Jake Bronicker, a Webster Groves resident and member of the Dark Sky Missouri board, told the Sustainability Commission that Webster Groves’ lighting rules are outdated and should be revised so outdoor lighting is “only light[ed] what you really need.”

Bronicker showed examples of lighting the commission described as both appropriate and problematic — including well-directed path lights along Edgar Road and the science center, and brighter, upward‑casting fixtures at the rec center and Blackburn Park — arguing those fixtures create glare, light trespass and harm to wildlife and human circadian rhythms.

The issue matters, Bronicker and Green Space Commission members said, because modern light‑emitting diode (LED) technology and broader use of high‑color‑temperature (blue‑rich) fixtures have increased sky glow even while allowing lower energy consumption.…