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Midway adopts rule to bar realistic flame bulbs, keeps gas lights allowed
Summary
The council adopted Ordinance 2025-10 to remove realistic flame bulbs from the municipal lighting code (section 5.020.08), citing a loophole that lets unshielded fixtures circumvent full-cutoff requirements; enforcement challenges and grandfathering were discussed.
Midway City councilors voted to adopt Ordinance 2025-10, amending Municipal Code section 5.020.08 to prohibit realistic flame bulbs and close what staff described as a local code loophole that can defeat full-cutoff lighting requirements.
Speaker 6 (staff) told the council that realistic flame bulbs vary widely in quality and that some homeowners or contractors are installing them to avoid fixture-level full-cutoff requirements: "contractors, homeowners... in order to get around the full cutoff requirement for fixtures, they're saying, well, we'll just put in a realistic flame bulb," Speaker 6 said, explaining the concern that once a bulb fails or the house is sold the bulb can be swapped for a non‑compliant lamp.
The proposed change removes the option permitting realistic flame bulbs at a 100-lumen cap and retains gas lights as the only allowed unshielded fixture type. Staff argued the amendment would simplify enforcement because inspectors would not need to check for a particular bulb type at each residence.
Council members debated enforcement and grandfathering. Speaker 4 said the code language itself is clear and identified enforcement capacity as the practical challenge, noting the town lacks an enforcement officer and that some properties are grandfathered from the newer full-cutoff standard. Speaker 6 and others suggested placing enforcement on a strategic planning agenda to address staffing and mapping of grandfathered properties.
Speaker 4 moved to adopt Ordinance 2025-10; Speaker 6 seconded. A recorded roll-call vote returned unanimous "Aye" responses and the ordinance was adopted. The ordinance retains gas lights, removes the realistic flame bulb option, and directs staff to consider enforcement mechanisms in future planning work.
The ordinance will take effect according to the municipal code's standard effective-date provisions and staff will follow up with implementation steps and potential enforcement planning.
