Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Lighting Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Midway council adopts ordinance banning realistic flame bulbs to close lighting loophole
Summary
Midway City Council adopted Ordinance 2025-10 to remove realistic flame bulbs from allowed unshielded fixtures, leaving gas lights as the only unshielded option; council members said the change simplifies enforcement.
The Midway City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 2025-10, amending the municipal code to remove “realistic flame” bulbs from the list of permitted unshielded fixtures and requiring full-cutoff fixtures for all new lighting except gas lights.
Staff told the council the change is intended to close an enforcement loophole. Under the previous language, builders and homeowners were installing realistic flame bulbs at or below the lumen limit and then could replace them with regular bulbs or unshielded fixtures later, effectively circumventing the full-cutoff requirement. A planning staff member stated the proposal would “remove the ability to use realistic flame bulbs” so that “staff enforcement of the code would be easier.”
The ordinance keeps gas lights as an exemption; staff said gas lights are costly to install and are not interchangeable with simple bulb replacements, limiting the risk that homeowners would swap in brighter unshielded bulbs. Councilors discussed enforcement capacity and said that without an enforcement officer it is difficult to police post-installation bulb swaps and grandfathered properties.
One councilmember asked staff to include enforcement capacity in strategic planning, and staff agreed. During discussion several councilors said the ordinance brings the code into consistency with prior full-cutoff lighting standards adopted earlier this year.
The council voted to adopt Ordinance 2025-10; a recorded voice vote showed Jeff, Kevin, JC and Craig voting “aye.” The ordinance amends the Midway City Municipal Code provision on outdoor lighting and glare (section 5.020.08 as described in the meeting) by removing language that allowed realistic flame bulbs under lumen limits.
Staff said the ordinance should reduce the need for after-hours inspections and make code compliance a matter of installed fixtures rather than ongoing monitoring of bulb type. The council asked staff to schedule enforcement capacity as a planning priority in a future strategic planning meeting.
