Ketchum becomes first in state to have night sky regulations

By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

Ketchum is the first municipality in the state of Idaho to adopt night sky preservation laws and is among a very few municipalities nationwide to have such regulations.

The Ketchum City Council on Monday unanimously approved an ordinance that will limit light pollution by placing restrictions on street lighting, holiday lighting, landscape lighting and household and industrial flood lighting in the city.

Compliance will have to be met within one year for commercially zoned areas and within two years for residential areas.

Issues the council members ironed out Monday evening included potentially too strict holiday lighting regulations and possible objections to landscape lighting.

During a previous look at the ordinance, Councilwoman Sue Noel said proposed restrictions on holiday lighting were too strict. The draft ordinance proposed that holiday lights not be closer than six inches apart.

The council decided to reduce the requirement to allow lights in three-inch intervals. They also added that holiday lighting will not be allowed in the summer. A period between November 1 and April 15 will be the only time of year when holiday lights are allowed.

No one at the meeting voiced opposition to the proposed prohibition of landscape up-lighting. Landscape lighting will be allowed, but discouraged. Landscape up-lighting will not be allowed at all.

The Ketchum/Sun Valley Heritage and Ski Museum’s Dick Meyer, who is also licensed as a landscape architect, said he is against all forms of up-lighting and favored the council’s decision.