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Planning commission approves lighting-standards project charge with Dark-Sky guidance suggested
Summary
The commission approved a scoped project charge to modernize private-land lighting standards and reduce light pollution; members recommended aligning with International Dark-Sky guidance and balancing nighttime pedestrian safety.
The South Burlington Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a project charge to update outdoor lighting regulations in the city’s land development regulations. Staff described the lighting review as the larger of two parallel performance-standard projects and said it would examine modern fixture technologies and the city’s goal to reduce light pollution.
Commissioners urged balancing light-pollution reduction with nighttime pedestrian safety and suggested using International Dark-Sky Association guidance for standardized metrics and lighting zones. "They've tried to make the thing very easily standardized, and that's what I'm recommending that we kind of base our new regulations on that," Donna Lieben said, referencing the association's model ordinance.
The commission discussed whether single- and two-family homes should be included; staff recommended focusing the initial update on private non-street lighting and suggested handling single-family issues through nuisance or targeted new-construction standards. A motion to approve the outdoor lighting regulation project charge, with edits suggested at the meeting, passed with unanimous assent.
