Council reviews outdoor‑lighting code changes and steps toward an International Dark Sky application

City planner Jessica Relucio presented proposed amendments to the Unified Development Code and the code of ordinances to consolidate conflicting outdoor‑lighting provisions and to align the city’s approach with dark‑sky standards.

Relucio said the 2009 outdoor lighting ordinance and later 2019 UDC created overlapping and inconsistent rules; staff’s draft would consolidate rules into one ordinance. Two policy conflicts staff highlighted were hours of illumination for outdoor recreational facilities and allowable durations for motion‑sensor security lights. Staff recommended that no outdoor recreational facility be illuminated from 10 p.m. to sunrise, except to conclude an activity already in progress, and that motion‑activated security lights be limited to a maximum of five minutes once triggered (to align with the ordinance language rather than the UDC’s longer period).

Relucio told council the draft includes temporary exemptions and a process for written requests to the city manager for special events, and staff suggested that special‑event uses could be handled via special‑use permits or a written temporary exemption process. She also described the steps and timeline for pursuing International Dark Sky recognition—an application process that typically takes one to three years and requires ordinance alignment, a sky‑quality survey and community engagement.

Council members asked about enforcement mechanics (complaints trigger PD/code inspections and lumens testing), whether residential properties would be subject to the same limits (staff said yes), and how to provide flexibility for rare special events. Multiple council members suggested granting the city manager authority to approve limited exemptions and integrating special‑events review into the permit process. A council member also asked about pursuing Dark Sky recognition only after the ordinance and UDC are aligned, which staff recommended.

Next steps: staff will incorporate council feedback, route the consolidated ordinance through planning and zoning for review and public hearing, and then bring UDC and ordinance amendments to council with two readings and public hearings as required.