Protecting Night Skies in Flagstaff

Flagstaff’s lighting regulations date back to 1958 and have evolved into a comprehensive program to protect the night sky. Over the years lighting codes in Flagstaff have been very effective in meeting the needs of the community while also maintaining dark skies for local observatories. With continued community growth and the advent of LED lighting technology, the Flagstaff City Lighting Code required an update. The session will provide an overview of how outdoor lighting is regulated in Flagstaff, details of recent amendments that provide technical standards for LED, commercial and residential lighting, efforts to simplify the code to improve understanding, and a process that brought local observatories and the community together to ensure dark skies are maintained for a range of benefits that support scientific and community purposes.