New rules may govern outdoor lighting
Kalispell may be on its way to darker skies with the help of proposed lighting standards that would cut down light pollution.
The Kalispell City Council will review the standards May 2. The planning board recently recommended the council approve the standards.
The regulations cover items such as the types of light bulbs the city prefers and the maximum allowable height of light poles.
The city says the regulations will control lighting that produces glare or "light trespass," which is light that shines beyond the property on which the light fixture is located.
The standards would become part of the zoning ordinance and would apply to both commercial and residential properties.
Regulations outlined in the standards include:
. The prohibition of mercury vapor lights, which the city says have poor light intensity and are energy-inefficient.
. Lights designed to highlight signs must be placed above the sign with the light shielded. Ground lighting can be used for ground-mounted signs that have a solid base.
. Lights must be directed and shielded so that direct light does not extend beyond the property.
New developments, whether commercial or residential, would have to comply with the standards as soon as they were adopted. Developers would have to submit lighting plans to the city as part of the site review process.
Existing residential property owners would have to comply with the regulations within six months from the time of the standards' adoption or by Jan. 1, 2006, whichever comes first. If a property owner replaced or removed his or her light fixtures before that time, the new lights would have to comply immediately.
Commercial property owners would have five years after the standards were adopted or until June 1, 2010, whichever comes first. Lights replaced or removed during that period would have to comply with the standards.
The full document is on the Tri-City Planning Office's Web site, www.tricityplanning-mt.com.
Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at ceasterling@dailyinterlake.com