Panel recommends ordinance changes to clarify outdoor lighting rules

YUKON, Okla. — A Yukon board voted to recommend changes to the city’s outdoor lighting rules that remove an exemption for very small residential clusters and clarify how temporary holiday lighting is treated under the code.

The amendment would modify Chapter 215 (Unified Development Code), Article 5, Section 5-06, subsection B (Applicability and exemptions) of the Yukon Code of Ordinances to resolve conflicts between the existing ordinance and a recently adopted light‑trespass rule, according to staff.

City staff told the board the principal edits remove an exemption for properties with fewer than four dwelling units, which previously prevented enforcement of complaints on single‑house properties, and add a clearer description of temporary holiday lighting so the outdoor‑lighting section aligns with the light‑trespass ordinance. The staff presentation described the item as a cleanup to remove conflicting language rather than a substantive change beyond those clarifications.

Commission discussion was brief. One member asked whether the change meant residents could not leave Christmas lights up after a specific date; staff and other members clarified that the amendment addresses when and how lighting may be operated or regulated, and the updated holiday‑lighting language is meant to match the light‑trespass ordinance so there is no inconsistent guidance between sections. The city attorney was acknowledged during the exchange.

A motion to recommend approval of the proposed amendment was made and seconded. The board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the amendment to the Yukon Code of Ordinances.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the body responsible for final adoption under Yukon’s ordinance process; the transcript did not specify the next meeting or final adoption date.