City staff recommends local lighting rules over full Dark Sky certification

City planner Jessica Hankins briefed council on the city's recent review by Dark Sky International and explained why staff recommends pursuing local lighting limits rather than the full certification process. The consultant and the reviewer told staff that certification requires a long-term (10-year) retrofit commitment covering all public and private fixtures and annual monitoring and reporting, which is administratively and financially large for Nevada City.

Hankins said the city has more than 450 streetlights (many owned by PG&E) and that certification would require fixture-by-fixture documentation and monitoring equipment plus staff time to maintain annual compliance. She said Dark Sky International staff supported the idea of pursuing local regulatory goals without certification and that the planning department will draft revised lighting regulations, coordinate with public works and return to the planning commission and council for adoption.