We recently had the opportunity to bring light pollution and responsible lighting 101 to a workshop of the Virginia Association of Zoning Officials (VAZO) for the Shenandoah Valley region. Laura Greenleaf, chapter leader, was joined in-person colleague and professional planner Sara Hollberg of Staunton (pictured here) and by video conference, Rick Utting of Clanton and Associates, a national leader in responsible lighting design and research for decades. Rick is also a consultant for DarkSky International, co-authoring their municipal ordinance template, the use of which was part of his presentation.
Lighting is an essential element of our built environment and our communities that is treated as an afterthought, rather than the specialty requiring planning and qualified design that it is. The outcome is glare and over-lighting that impair our vision and reduce visibility, creating less safe conditions, while degrading the character of our neighborhoods and polluting our environment, including our own homes with light trespass. The more that planners, zoning officials, and other community development professionals become familiar in and fluent with the principles of responsible outdoor lighting and how to put them into the action, the better our chances of reversing the light pollution trend in Virginia.
