Law and policy
Establishing lawful requirements for outdoor lighting is an effective way to protect local character, improve visual safety, and reduce the harmful effects of unnecessary and misdirected light.
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Creating municipal law
County and municipal forms of government have an in-depth understanding of local character and have the ability to enact and enforce specific outdoor lighting requirements.
Step one: How to get involved
Step one towards creating local law is to investigate if your local municipality has already enacted an outdoor lighting ordinance or bylaw that became part of the local code book. This can usually be done quickly with a web search or phone call to the city/township administration office. If you live locally and don’t know the answer, it’s a good indication that either one does not exist, or the community does not actively promote one. If one does not exist, we recommend contacting a city council member you might know and engaging them in a conversation about adding outdoor lighting requirements to the code book that align with other nearby local towns or even regional destination cities admired for their DarkSky advocacy.
Step two: Getting prepared
Download the DarkSky Ordinance Template and User Guide. If outdoor lighting requirements already exist, print them out and compare them to the DarkSky template to identify areas that are not addressed or different. The DarkSky template is available as a collection of best practice ideas based on the five principles for responsible outdoor lighting that are proven to be effective against light pollution. When ready, meet with other advocates and local stakeholders to fill in the optional choices that best fit the local community to finish your draft.
Watch each video to prepare and talk about each point
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Step three: Take action
Submit the draft ordinance to a city council member and ask if it’s the appropriate time for a code update. Recommend for lighting experts to be consulted as needed and volunteer your time to help educate the community on responsible outdoor lighting.
Creating state law
Federal, state, and provincial laws demonstrate territorial leadership and set an example for the importance of drafting appropriate and effective outdoor lighting requirements. The following templates and user guides are based on existing laws, best practices, and intended for the legislative process:
Step one: How to get involved
Our advocates are passionate and eager to help mitigate the negative effects of light pollution. Step one towards creating or updating state law is to investigate if your state already has an existing statute regarding outdoor lighting. This can usually be done quickly with a web search. If one does not exist and you wish to advocate for the benefits of responsible outdoor lighting, you will need plenty of help and patience as you navigate the political process. We recommend connecting with a local DarkSky chapter and identifying partner organizations that support similar legislation. Together, advocates can become educated on what steps and prior actions have been taken to get this topic in front of legislators.
Step two: Getting prepared
Ideas for bills can be submitted to a legislative chamber by either a senator or a state representative. It’s important to identify who you might know, who your local representatives are, what political party is in power, and is it good timing within the term limits of an election cycle. We recommend trying to gain bipartisan support of a bill with co-sponsorship if you can identify entities that will work well together.
Download the State Legislative Introduction Letter for a brief and compelling introduction to the topic of outdoor lighting and why we need legislative help. It’s short enough to be read, and interesting enough to gain someone’s interest. We do not recommend sending the bill language and technical details as a way of introduction.
Watch each video to prepare and talk about each point
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Step four: Take action
Once a state representative is interested, legislative bill writers will attempt to draft requirement language for sponsorship. This action is best accomplished working together with our advocates. Download the DarkSky legislative template for appropriate vocabulary and effective, but not unreasonable, requirements based on the five principles for responsible outdoor lighting. Bringing legislation to the floor of a legislative chamber for vote can take years so again, we recommend a larger group of advocates and partner organization follow-up with state legislators to request support and approval for the measure.
Additional resources
Policy database
In partnership with the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law, we have developed a database of statutory regulations and case law regarding outdoor lighting.
