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Resident Darrick Lang urges Interlaken to tighten dark-sky lighting rules after disruptive holiday displays
Summary
At the Jan. 27 Interlaken Town Council meeting, resident and amateur astronomer Darrick Lang asked the council to strengthen outdoor-lighting rules and enforcement after automated, bright holiday lights from a neighbor disrupted wildlife and his nighttime sky viewing; he offered written edits and volunteered to help staff refine the ordinance.
Darrick Lang, a resident who described himself as a conservationist and astronomer, told the Interlaken Town Council on Jan. 27 that automated holiday lights from a nearby house were so bright they cast shadows into his bedroom and impaired wildlife in the preserve behind his home. "The wildlife, the dark skies are important too," Lang said, adding that the town’s current outdoor-lighting specification appears incomplete and in need of tightening.
Lang said informal requests to the neighbor had not resolved the issue and that he redlined the lighting specification to address gaps. He urged the council to adopt a defined holiday lighting window and proposed using Midway’s approach as a model, suggesting, for example, a Nov. 26–Jan. 2 allowance period for festive displays. He offered to share his written notes with town staff and help craft enforcement language.
Chair (speaking for the council) thanked Lang for his input and asked him to send his notes to Bart, the staff member handling ordinance revisions. Council members noted enforcement capacity is limited — enforcement is handled through complaint procedures and town resources — and said they were trying to balance reasonable holiday allowances with enforceable rules. "If you would submit those to Bart, we'd love to talk to you more about it," the Chair said.
Lang also told the council he has seen enforcement systems that begin with a written complaint form and a follow-up by an ordinance-enforcement official; he suggested Interlaken adopt a similar procedure tied to a fines schedule. Council staff acknowledged enforcement is constrained by limited local resources and that tightening language and creating a clear complaint process could improve compliance without requiring a large new enforcement budget.
The council did not take formal action on the ordinance during the meeting. Staff asked residents to submit written suggestions for consideration; the next step is for Bart and the town attorney to incorporate changes and bring a revised draft back to the council for review.
