The Petoskey City Council is expected to consider a proposal regarding outdoor lighting guidance sometime in early 2026.
The city’s planning commission recommended the proposed ordinance at its Nov. 19 meeting following a long debate. The ordinance would communicate to designers, engineers and architects how to include lighting that adheres to dark sky guidelines.
The recommendations align with guidelines provided by DarkSky International, an Arizona-based non-profit that works to preserve and protect the nighttime environment of dark, star-filled skies. The organization does so by promoting the reduction of light pollution and promoting responsible outdoor lighting across the U.S. and globally.
“It comes down to providing guidance to allow us to maintain the ability for (residents and visitors) to be able to see the stars at night,” said city planner John Iacoangeli. “That’s important to our residents and a reason people want to (live in or visit) Northern Michigan.”
The City of Petoskey has been working on rewriting its zoning codes over the last year, and this is one part of that effort, Iacoangeli said. Exterior outdoor lighting can be designed and implemented in ways that offer the amount of light needed to promote a safe and secure space without adding unnecessary light that blocks out views of the sky at night.
“A fair percentage of our city is composed of parks and single-family housing,” Iacoangeli said. “We want to provide these (consultants) with the amount and type of projected light that is appropriate in given circumstances.”
If approved, the ordinance would create a citywide exemption for seasonal decorative lighting, while establishing technical controls for nonexempt outdoor lighting.
Commissioners and city officials are developing a comprehensive presentation to provide specific examples of how these guidelines will adhere to dark sky requirements before presenting it to the city council after the holidays.
“We’ve been taking steps to reduce exterior light for some time, and this provides the metrics needed to address the dark sky requirements in (ordinance language),” Iacoangeli said. “We have many examples around the city of our existing dark sky efforts.”
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey city officials eye possible rules for outdoor lighting
Reporting by M. Alan Scott, Special to the News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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