Cottonwood jeopardizes losing its International Dark Sky Community designation if all lighting is not brought into compliance by Nov. 3, 2028.
During its June 9 meeting, the Cottonwood City Council discussed ways to bring all lighting within city limits into compliance.
Community Development Director Sami Real presented an overview of the town’s history with lighting regulations and ideas to bring the town into compliance before the deadline.
In 2016, the council discussed pursuing the dark sky community designation for Cottonwood. A dark sky committee was formed and many public meetings were held. In October 2018, the city’s outdoor lighting ordinance was approved by council to be amended to follow the DarkSky International regulations. This ordinance became effective Nov. 3, 2018.
The amendment reflects the organization’s model lighting ordinance and regulations focused on fixture design, kelvins, hours of operation and more. Real noted that Cottonwood has had a long history with its outdoor lighting code, requiring downshield lighting standards and an overall lumen per acre cap in 1999.
In 2019, Cottonwood was officially certified by DarkSky International as a dark sky community, making it the 23rd dark sky community in the world. All new developments are reviewed to ensure they are compliant.
The designation requires that all lighting in Cottonwood becomes compliant within 10 years of adopting the ordinance. The designation requires that the city conduct quarterly nighttime brightness measurements, host at least two dark sky events a year and submit annual reports to DarkSky International. All city-owned properties were required to be compliant within five years, which was accomplished in 2023. All privately owned properties must be compliant by Nov. 3, 2028.
If the city is not compliant by the 2028 deadline, Cottonwood could potentially lose its dark sky community designation.
To maintain the designation, Real shared a few ideas with council that staff could perform, outside of the required actions and continuing to enforce the regulations. She suggested increasing educational campaign efforts, such as adding quarterly info flyers to utility billing statements, placing posters at hardware stores on dark sky compliant lighting and attending HOA meetings.
City staff could actively seek partnerships and sponsors to financially assist property owners in meeting the compliance mandate. Real added that Flagstaff and Sedona work with nonprofits that help distribute funds, host events and conduct dark sky reporting.
Staff currently reviews development proposals to ensure regulations are met, but doesn’t take proactive measures. Real suggested having proactive enforcement of noncompliant properties, potentially dedicating an employee to enforce lighting standards. She added that the city of Flagstaff designated a full-time staff member who analyzed lighting over many years. They worked with property owners and issued warnings, which could lead to violations and fines. In Cottonwood, there has not been a nighttime survey to see which properties are noncompliant to make an inventory.
City Manager Mario Cifuentez said staff wanted to have this conversation with council to determine what level of enforcement and what participation the council wants to have.
Vice Mayor Felicia Coates said she doesn’t think the avenue of enforcement is the approach they should take in order to meet the deadline.
Real stated the goal is voluntary compliance.
No action was taken.
