Residents ask Orderville to adopt light ordinance after bright security lights complaint

During public comment a resident who asked to remain anonymous read a written complaint saying Jenkins had installed security lights and cameras that are “excessively bright” all night and pointed directly at the complainant’s house. The writer requested the board consider limits on luminous intensity, require downward-facing fixtures, and consider curfews for exterior lights.

Several residents followed, describing local experiences with bright floodlights and urging the town to include a light ordinance when it finalizes its updated ordinance book. One speaker said the town’s neighboring properties had replaced street lights with low-lumen, fully shielded fixtures and suggested Orderville do the same to protect night skies, which residents identified as a community asset for star viewing and tourism.

The board acknowledged the town had previously bypassed a more restrictive dark-sky initiative but said adding a general light ordinance or standards was appropriate when the municipal code is updated. A staff member read that the town currently lacks a specific light ordinance; several residents asked the board to add one that would require downward-facing fixtures and allow the town to set intensity or curfew limits.

Board members noted practical limits: one resident called the Jenkins situation a private dispute between neighbors and said the offending property owner had agreed to dim the lights after it was reported. The board agreed to consider a light ordinance as part of the ordinance-review process, rather than adopt an immediate prohibition. No ordinance was adopted at the meeting.