1 Outdoor Lighting Ordinance Metropolitan Mayors Caucus March 27, 2008

2 Jim Daley Mayor – Village of Homer Glen Margaret Sabo Trustee – Village of Homer Glen Russell Knaack Trustee – Village of Homer Glen Metropolitan Mayors Caucus March 27, 2008

3 Homer Glen Outdoor Lighting Ordinance Contributors & Reviewers  Homer Glen Environment Committee  Homer Glen Village Staff  Phil Pavlacka, Maura Rigoni - Robinson Engineering  Homer Township Chamber of Commerce  Chris Luginbuhl – Astronomer, U.S. Naval Observatory  Dave Toeppen – International Dark-Sky Association  Joseph Donaldson – Mayor of Flagstaff, AZ  Susan Harder – Dark Sky Society, NY  Francis Parnell – International Dark-Sky Association

4 Village of Homer Glen Background “The Village of Homer Glen is committed to preserving, protecting, and enhancing our community’s quality of life through responsible residential and economic development while utilizing sound fiscal management. We will strive to maintain open space preserve our unique rural character, and safeguard our natural resources. The Village encourages community involvement in order to maintain and cultivate a balance of family, agriculture, business, environment, and cultural diversity for present and future generations.” Mission Statement Village Motto: Community & Nature…In Harmony

5 Outdoor Lighting Ordinance Timeline 1973:Flagstaff, AZ creates 1 st lighting ordinance 2001:Trustee Laurel Ward suggests lighting ordinance for newly incorporated Homer Glen 2002:Homer Glen Lighting Subcommittee Created, Debra Norvil appoint as Chair : Worked w/ Flagstaff, AZ & Int. Dark Sky Association researching lighting ordinances 2006Draft ordinance presented to Village Board 2006:Homer Glen Zoning Ordinance updated with lighting section 2007:Trustee Russell Knaack begins working with Environment Committee on lighting ordinance 2007:Homer Glen Outdoor Lighting Ordinance approved on December 18, 2007

Other States: Maine, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Connecticut with other states (eg, Massachusetts) looking at similar legislation. Efforts started by cities like Flagstaff AZ DOT top 5: 6

7 WHY an Outdoor Lighting Ordinance? Objectives:  Minimize Light Pollution  Conserve Energy  Protect Sensitive Environmental Areas  Promote Public Safety  Prevent Nuisances to Residents  Beautify Commercial Areas  Set Clear Standards for Development

8 Objective: Minimize Light Pollution A Case Study – Toronto Blackout 2003 August 20, 2003August 21, 2003 © Todd Carlson

9  Artificial light disturbs the natural habitat of living organisms:  Animals  Insects  Plants  Many animals and Insects rely on darkness for food or protection  Mating & migratory habits affected  Artificial light can delay dormancy in trees and plant life Snowy Egret Great Blue Heron Objective: Protect Sensitive Environmental Areas

10  Poor lighting illuminates trees, clouds, & outer space  Producing light requires energy  Wasted light is wasted money  Residents ultimately pay for this waste  TAXES (e.g., street light bills)  COST OF GOODS (e.g., business overhead) Objective: Conserve Energy

11  Distracting lights divide a driver’s attention  Glare reduces the ability to see signs, people, and other safety cues  The human eye requires time to adapt from light to dark conditions More Light ≠ More Safety Objective: Promote Public Safety © Photo by Mike Lockwood

12  Neighbor-to-Neighbor  Business-to-Neighbor  Streetlight-to-Neighbor Light Trespass Produces Unhappy Residents “Light Trespass” Objective: Prevent Nuisances to Residents

13 Poor lighting focuses attention bright lights, not businesses Good lighting enhances buildings & architecture Objective: Beautify Commercial Areas

14  Establishing ground rules prevents “Light Wars” as businesses compete for attention  Explicit requirements eliminate guesswork and interpretation in planning and approval stages  Quantifiable standards enable enforcement Objective: Set Clear Standards for Development

15 Outdoor Lighting: Light generated from an indoor or outdoor source that provides illumination to a surface, building, sign, structure, device, or other outdoor feature which is visible to an observer located outdoors.  Landscape Lighting  Parking Lot Lighting  Externally Illuminated Signs  Architectural Lighting  Store Window Displays  Internally Illuminated Signs  Exempt Lighting  Holiday Lighting  Emergency Lighting  Special Events/Construction Scope: What is Outdoor Lighting

16 Scope: Who is Affected? “Residential Lighting Zones”  Single-Family Residence  Two-Family Residence “Commercial Lighting Zones”  Businesses  Churches  Multi-Family Housing  Parks & Village Facilities  Other Public Entities

17 The Homer Glen Outdoor Lighting Ordinance in Two Sentences… 1. Don’t use any more light than you really need. 2. Shine the light where you really need it.

18 Outdoor Lighting Ordinance Details  Conformance Requirements  Illumination Standards  Luminaire Standards  Prohibited Outdoor Lighting  Exempt Outdoor Lighting  Procedural Requirements

19 Luminaire Standards: Full-Cutoff Requirement “Commercial Lighting Zones” & Street Lighting All luminaires must be IESNA “Full-Cutoff”

20 Luminaire Standards: Full-Cutoff Requirement IESNA Full-Cutoff Non Full-Cutoff

21 Luminaire Standards: Installed Height Lighting ZoneMaximum Height Residential20 ft Commercial25 ft

Calgary: In , Calgary retrofitted about 37,500 residential streetlights, switching to lower-wattage, flat lens fixtures from dropped lens fixtures. Annual cost savings just from reduced energy use are about $1.7 million. The city expects the expense of the new lights to be paid off by Savings of $45.30 per light per year 22

Maui: The island is retrofitting 4,000 streetlights with full-cutoff luminaires. Annual cost savings are $105,850 - $211,700; time to recover the cost of the retrofits is estimated at 2.8 – 5.7 years. STARRY_NIGHTS/LeeRetrofitReport.html STARRY_NIGHTS/LeeRetrofitReport.html 23

Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor retrofitted its old downtown pedestrian street lights. The city expects the initial investment to be paid back in 3.8 years. The new LED lights typically burn five times longer than the lights they replace and use less than half the energy. Annual cost savings are about $100, p?i= p?i=

Full cutoff lights for Stadiums and VS 25

For more on full cutoff stadium lights: 26

27 Over 50 companies listed as making approved fixtures at: orgId=idsa Eg: