For dark sky policies and the lighting code to achieve their goals, the community must implement processes and allocate resources to assure sustained results.
Municipal Plan Review
The lighting code specifies information that must be included with submitted plans to confirm compliance with its standards. Community development staff must be trained to review and apply these standards. For the Flagstaff lighting code, this primarily consists of:
- Spectral compliance
- Class 1 lighting, CCT (manufacturer fixture cut sheet) [example]
- Class 2 lighting, peak wavelength (NBA) for S/P ratio (PCA) (manufacturer SPD data sheet) [example]
- Shielding compliance
- Manufacturer fixture cut sheet illustration or LCS BUG rating with U = 0 [example]
- Total Lighting Output compliance
- Table or fixture schedule in site plans [example]
Educational Resources
There are many avenues to educate the community about the nature and purpose of the outdoor lighting standards
- Educational material about the nature and purpose of the standards to homeowners and businesses
The Role for Dark Sky Advocates
There is a (limited) role for dark sky advocates (and/or a dark sky NGO) in assuring effective implementation of dark sky policies and standards. Advocates can for example relay questions or complaints received through electronic or social media to the appropriate public resources (e.g. codes enforcement). But it is important that advocates avoid fostering a sense that the Lighting Code or policies are “theirs.” Advocates should not get directly involved in lighting code enforcement, though they can be helpful as an adjunct to the official planning and codes enforcement apparatus to relay information on potential violations. Advocates can and should take a primary role in education about the positive benefits to the community from dark skies (see TFS Ethos), and let the community enforcement apparatus handle the “stick” of lighting code enforcement.