Shorewood trustees keep 'dark‑sky' fixtures but agree to shields and resident adjustments

Shorewood trustees on a committee of the whole on the evening of the meeting reaffirmed their prior decision to use dark‑sky LED streetlight fixtures for most village streets while adopting a policy of resident‑level mitigation when lights intrude on homes.

“I'm in favor of keeping the dark sky lights going,” Trustee McGovern said, adding the fixtures have reduced light intrusion at her corner and improved pedestrian safety. Staff framed three discrete questions for trustees: stop specifying dark‑sky fixtures going forward and replace current fixtures; install shields at intersections; and make Lake Drive fixtures dimmable like side streets. Staff said conversion or replacement costs can be substantial — citing a unit reference of “$900 times 226” and an aggregate conversion estimate discussed in the meeting.

Several residents described bright, unshielded LED glare into homes. “The real issue is that it's a raw LED,” resident Adam Bauer said, describing how unshaded fixtures produced “blindingly bright” conditions inside multiple rooms of his house and urging trustees to reconsider design choices.

A local architect, Mark Keane, urged the board to consider design‑level solutions. “There are four things principally we teach students in architecture about design of lighting: the fixture itself, lumens, light uniformity and glare,” Keane said, noting LED conversions have generated similar complaints nationally.

Trustees stopped short of rescinding the dark‑sky policy. The board’s direction, as summarized by the chair, was to continue specifying dark‑sky fixtures for future phases, not to replace already‑installed fixtures villagewide, but to: (1) provide and install house‑side shields by resident request, (2) consider installing shields at intersections while retaining crosswalk illumination, and (3) adjust light heads at intersections to reduce house‑side spill where feasible. Staff described the shield process: residents call the office, requests are logged and sent to electrical staff, and installation typically takes about 15–30 minutes.

The board debated whether to repurchase Lake Drive fixtures (those fixtures were described as nonadjustable, purchased by the state). Trustees discussed estimates for replacing Lake Drive fixtures to make them dimmable (figures mentioned around $48,000–$55,000 for the Lake Drive scope alone), and some trustees said they would not support reducing brightness on major streets that serve safety functions. “I would not be in favor of reducing the brightness on any of the major streets,” one trustee said, noting the corridor is a state highway with safety goals for continuous illumination.

Next steps: trustees directed staff to continue providing shields on request, to pursue intersection‑specific shield and head‑adjustment installs where they won’t compromise crosswalk or intersection lighting, and to report back with firm cost and procurement options if the board wants to pursue repurchasing fixtures for Lake Drive.