The Petoskey City Planning Commission on Nov. 19 voted to recommend a proposed outdoor lighting ordinance to the City Council after a two-hour public hearing and debate over technical limits and neighborhood impacts.

Commissioners agreed to send the ordinance to Council with staff-prepared examples of existing fixtures and lighting levels to help elected officials evaluate practical effects. S1 opened the public hearing and noted the packet contained a corrected "version 8" of the ordinance.

The ordinance sets a citywide exemption for seasonal decorative lighting and establishes an overall curfew and technical controls for nonexempt outdoor luminaires. As S1 explained during the hearing, the seasonal exemption was revised to run "October 1 through February 28" to cover holiday displays. S1 also stated that properties in the historic district are allowed to keep lights on all night under the historic exemption.

Technical debate centered on color temperature and brightness. S1 read a written comment from a resident urging a 2,700K maximum color-correlated temperature; S5, who provided lighting analysis during the hearing, said "I would recommend that we stay with 3,000, which is right in the middle, and it's a neutral light." S5 explained that 2,700K leans toward yellow hues while 3,000K offers a neutral balance between color rendition and perceived safety.

Commissioners also discussed a 3,000-lumen guideline for commercial fixtures and the practicalities of applying the code to city-owned street lighting. Staff (S12) said they would research current streetlight types and provide measurements; commissioners asked for photographic or measured examples (Kilwin's parking lot, stadium lighting) to include with the Council packet.

A separate motion to reclassify a small B3A zoning pocket along U.S.‑131 from lighting zone LZ3 to LZ2 (reducing allowed ambient lighting) was introduced by S7 and debated at length. The commission took a roll-call vote on that motion; the record shows Newman — No; Moss — Yes; Robson — No; Smith — No; Wilma — No; Detmer — No; Free — No; Schromberg — No; Meridian — No, and the motion failed.

On the lighting ordinance recommendation itself, the commission voted by roll call to forward the ordinance to City Council in January with sample lighting comparisons. The roll-call recorded Detmer, Bromberg, Freid, Meridian, Newman, Robson, Smith and Wilma voting Yes, and Moss voting No.

Commissioners emphasized that existing fixtures would be grandfathered and that compliance would occur over time as bulbs and fixtures are replaced or when complaints require action. S5 noted sports and stadium lighting are addressed under a separate code and are exempt from this ordinance.

The commission directed staff to prepare concrete examples of existing lighting levels for Council review and to clarify which fixtures are exempt or grandfathered. The measure now moves to the City Council with the Planning Commission's recommendation.

The Planning Commission adjourned at 7:36 p.m.