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East Hampton board considers stricter tree and landscape uplighting limits to protect dark skies
Summary
The town board reviewed proposed changes to Chapter 255 to limit uplighting to trees, require fully shielded fixtures, reduce lumen limits to about 600 and set an overnight cutoff (board discussed 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. as the working window). The revision would take effect Jan. 1, 2025, after a public hearing.
The East Hampton Town Board discussed a proposed amendment to Chapter 255 of the town code to restrict and better regulate uplighting on private property, with the stated goals of reducing light trespass and protecting the town's night sky.
Assistant Town Attorney Nick Cacus described the draft change as a targeted narrowing of the current code. "What we can do is tailor this code to only focus on the uplighting of trees," Cacus told the board, proposing lower lumen limits and fully shielded fixtures that would not cast light above the horizontal plane.
Kevin Cooper, director of Code Enforcement, said complaints from residents have increased as new construction has used bright landscape lighting that remains on through the night. "It's becoming a problem," Cooper said, noting that some new builds are lighting all foliage and creating significant light trespass.
Under the draft, uplighting of trees would be limited to roughly 600 lumens (approximately equivalent to a 40‑watt incandescent bulb), fixtures would be fully shielded and landscape/foliage lighting would be prohibited from directing light above the horizontal plane. The board discussed an overnight extinguish window; members converged on an interim working option of extinguishing uplighting from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., while noting seasonal and dusk‑based alternatives could be refined before final adoption.
Officials also discussed the code's effective date and a reasonable phase‑in period. Assistant Town Attorney Cacus proposed January 1, 2025, to give property owners and vendors time to comply with bulb or fixture changes.
Several board members asked for clarity on technical details such as specifying lumens and Kelvin (color temperature) rather than wattage, and on special cases like pathways or holiday lighting. The board agreed to take the proposal to a public hearing and to return with any technical refinements.
The amendment references the town's general light standards and would be noticed for a public hearing; the board asked staff to draft final language that makes lumen/Kelvin limits consistent across tree and landscape lighting provisions.
