Lewes aims to shed light on dark sky plan

Melanie Moser said she wants to see the Milky Way in Lewes.

The chair of the Lewes Planning Commission gave a presentation to mayor and city council at a public hearing Feb. 3 about dark sky lighting.

The hearing was held to give citizens the opportunity to comment on a proposed lighting ordinance aimed at reducing glare and light trespass, and, in return, making more of the night sky visible.

“Light pollution disrupts wildlife, impacts human health and wastes money and energy,” Moser said. “Migratory birds navigate by moon and starlight. Artificial light causes them to wander off course.”

The proposed ordinance uses dark sky lighting standards to direct light downward to where it is needed instead of into the heavens. Dark sky does not mean a dark ground.

The planning commission’s environmental subcommittee worked for months to draft the proposed lighting ordinance.

The proposed ordinance would require dark sky lighting for streetlights, and on commercial and industrial properties in the city. It would not apply to residential properties.

The proposal is for the city to phase in the new standards, retrofitting street lights when bulbs need to be replaced. Moser said there is no cost estimate for retrofitting.

Commercial and industrial properties would have five years to comply with the new ordinance.

Most of the provisions in the proposed ordinance are already in the city’s subdivision code, according to city planner Janelle Cornwell. The proposed ordinance would shift lighting to the zoning code.

Lewes police have expressed concerns over the possibility of lights being dimmed or going off at a certain hour. Cornwell said those concerns are addressed in the draft ordinance.

Moser said the planning commission is considering a dark sky pilot program. Possible sites are the Lewes Public Library parking lot, city hall or a city park.

“I think the pilot would be for the public to see. This would demonstrate it, and people would take that information home and do it there,” Moser said.

Sally Boswell, a member of the Preserve Our Park Coalition, a group originally formed to prevent a restaurant from being built in Cape Henlopen State Park, said the group has been working with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to have dark sky lighting installed at the park.

“You have the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Delaware Bay [on the other]. You’ve got these big dark sky areas. We’re at the edge, so we just need to work back from the edge. We have an opportunity to address quality of life related to dark sky in a way most towns and cities can’t,” Boswell said.

She said the group has successfully been able to have DNREC reduce the lighting at the newly renovated Biden Environmental Center.

Boswell said the group is also working with the Delaware River & Bay Authority to reduce light pollution at its properties.

Mayor and city council will consider the lighting ordinance at a future meeting.