Creating codes and statutes
Establishing quality requirements for outdoor lighting is an effective way to protect local character, enhance visual safety, and mitigate the harmful effects of light pollution. DarkSky International has created templates for local and state/territorial laws that support responsible outdoor nighttime lighting. These templates are grounded in our Five Principles of Responsible Outdoor Lighting at Night and were written in collaboration with industry professionals, lighting designers, environmental ecologists, and city planners. The templates are free and are ready for you to utilize in developing codes and statutes that fit the needs of your communities.
DarkSky also offers a review process for drafts of codes and statutes to check if the provisions within our templates are met. This review is designed to help ensure that draft language meets our template objectives and maintains proper definitions and terms so that the proposed laws are enforceable. Additionally, we have introduced a certification program, DarkSky Recognized Codes and Statutes, for policies that have been successfully adopted and enacted in cities, states, territories, and regions worldwide.
Explore our templates below and learn more about our review and recognition program.
Creating municipal law
City, county and other municipal forms of government possess an in-depth understanding of local character and have the ability to enact and enforce quality outdoor lighting requirements. Municipalities that enact local responsible outdoor lighting laws will benefit from better quality lighting and improved environmental conditions within and outside of their communities.
Step one: How to get involved
Step one towards creating local lighting codes is to investigate if your local municipality has already enacted an outdoor lighting ordinance or bylaw. 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 your local elected official 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 municipal ordinance template and user guide. If outdoor lighting requirements already exist for your municipality, compare them to the DarkSky template and identify areas that are different. The DarkSky template is a collection of best practices 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 build a broad coalition of support for the proposed law. Work with these partners and municipality officials to fill in the optional choices that best fit the local community to finish your draft.
Note: To access templates, you must first agree to DarkSky’s terms of use.
Training videos
Watch the training videos below to learn more about DarkSky principles and requirements.
Video 1: Targeted Lighting
Video 2: Light Levels
Video 3: Lighting Curfew
Video 4: Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)
Step three: Take action
Submit your draft ordinance to a local elected official and ask if now is the appropriate time for a code update. Welcome and recommend professional lighting experts be consulted when needed and volunteer your time to help educate the community on responsible outdoor lighting.
Step four: DarkSky review and recognition
Submit your draft ordinance to DarkSky through our DarkSky Recognized Codes and Statutes program. For a modest fee, we will review the draft ordinance for compliance with the template objectives and ensure that definitions and terms are correct. After your code or ordinance has been adopted, you can apply to have it DarkSky Recognized, which results in having the municipality and its enacted law on the DarkSky website in recognition of it reaching this achievement. Learn more about our review and application process.
Creating state/territory law
Federal, state, and provincial laws demonstrate leadership in these larger territories. and set an example for the importance of drafting appropriate and effective outdoor lighting requirements. Working with these government entities can be very rewarding, as the positive impacts of state-sponsored responsible outdoor lighting measures help to influence municipalities within them and can expand to greater protection of the regional environment.
Step one: How to get involved
Step one towards creating or updating state or territory law is to investigate if the government entity 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 have supported similar legislation to better understand the process and the people involved at this state/territory level. Together, advocates can work together to determine what steps and prior actions have been taken to get this topic in front of legislators.
Step two: Getting prepared
A thorough understanding of the state/territory government structure is needed as you prepare to move forward. For instance, in the United States with bicameral assemblies, ideas for bills can be submitted to a legislative chamber by either a senator or a representative. Whatever the form of government, it’s important to identify who you might know, who your local representatives are, what political party is in power, and whether it is good timing within the term limits of an election cycle to bring the proposal forward. We recommend gaining a broad coalition of support for the legislation with co-sponsorship if you can identify entities that will work well together.
Download the DarkSky State/Territory Legislative Introduction Letter for a brief and compelling introduction to the topic of outdoor lighting and why we need legislative help. It is short enough to be read quickly, yet interesting enough to gain someone’s interest. It is meant as a way for you to introduce yourself and the topic of responsible lighting when you first meet with state/territory legislators.
Step three: Take action
Once a legislative representative is interested, they will generally assign the work to legislative bill writers that will attempt to draft requirement language for sponsorship.. Download the DarkSky State/Territory legislative template and User Guide for appropriate vocabulary and effective and reasonable requirements based on the Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting. Work with the representatives and writers to draft language that meets the criteria in the template. Bringing legislation to the floor of a legislative chamber for a vote can take years, so again, we recommend a larger group of advocates and partner organizations follow up with legislators to request support and approval for the measure.
Note: To access templates, you must agree to DarkSky’s terms of use.
Step four: DarkSky review and recognition
Submit the draft legislation to DarkSky through our DarkSky Recognized Codes and Statutes Program. For a modest fee, we will review the draft legislation for compliance with the template objectives and ensure that definitions and terms are correct. After your statute has been adopted, you can apply to have it DarkSky Recognized, which results in having the state/territory and its enacted law on the DarkSky website in recognition of it reaching this achievement. Learn more about our review and application process.
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.
