Arlington Heights toys with 'Dark Skies' proposal

An ordinance regulating artificial light to promote "dark skies," which has been controversial in other communities, has been proposed by the Arlington Heights Environmental Control Commission.

The ordinance is being discussed by village staff, especially the engineering department, and it is not known when it will be presented to the village board, officials said.

The idea behind the Dark Skies movement is to "limit the amount of light reflected up into the skies so people can see the sky and reduce energy costs," said David Templer, chairman of the commission, which drafted a proposal that the village staff is now reviewing.

Some people also think excessive light can be harmful to wildlife, he said.

As proposed, the ordinance would affect outdoor light emanating from residences as well as commercial and public land.

The environmental control commission was approached by the International Dark-Sky Association, which is talking to communities nationwide.

While Arlington Heights, as part of a metropolitan area, cannot create "dark skies" on its own, it is one of the larger municipalities in the region, and others might follow the example, Templer said.

Glenview has had an outdoor lighting ordinance since 2003 and is in the process of updating it to make it easier to understand, said Jill Ziegler, village planner. She expects the village board to consider the proposal this month.

Ziegler said the ordinance has not been controversial, and Glenview residences do not generally employ much lighting.

A proposed ordinance in Barrington Hills, however, has created a lot of controversy and has not yet been resolved.

One concern is whether crime will increase if a neighborhood becomes too dark, said Templer. He agrees with the argument that people have a right to do what they want with their property - unless it affects other people's rights.

The village is going slowly on this, he said. There already is an ordinance outlawing nuisance lighting, as in something so bright that it keeps neighbors awake at night.

"We don't want to over-regulate everyone," he said. "We want them to voluntarily do things like reduce carbon usage and have responsible lighting in place."

The commission studied model ordinances and based its proposal on one used by Homer Glen, a Southwest suburban village.

"It seemed to be one of the more reasonable ones. We don't want to get carried away and be too harsh," Templer said. "But they only have 12,000 people and it's more rural."

Existing light fixtures would be grandfathered so owners would not have to replace them immediately, he said.

Here are some tenets in the proposed ordinance that could affect residences:

•Uplighting would be permitted only for landscaping, flags or ground signs.

•Flags lighted at a 45 degree angle would be limited to 1,100 lumens, which is comparable to a 50-watt low-voltage halogen landscape bulb.

•Motion-detecting security lights would be allowed to stay on five minutes or less and would be limited to about 100 watts.

•Five feet above the ground at the property line light could not exceed one-tenth of a foot candle. This has been compared to the light of a full moon.

•Temporary lighting such as for holidays like Christmas and Halloween or festivals are allowed.

•Gas coachlights are allowed.

•Prohibited lights that are generally associated with businesses include ones that flicker, rotate, strobe, flash or scroll. Searchlights like those used for special events or business openings are also prohibited, as are neon lights outlining a building.

Streetlights and stoplights are already shielded so they point down rather than up, said Templer.

Educational forums would be an important part of the process, he said.

"It's like seat belts - at first they were giving warnings and now tickets."

At a recent Village Board meeting Mayor Arlene Mulder said she knows people who have lighted their landscaping to "soften the night."

The chairman is not worried about potential controversy in Arlington Heights.

"Some people will say, 'You can't tell me I can't put a pole light in my back yard,' but if it disturbs the neighbors, it's a problem," Templer said. "We're not living in Wyoming or Montana."