Town of Camp Verde officials appeared at Dark Skies Verde Valley’s quarterly meeting on Dec. 16, requesting feedback from the organization to the dark skies components of the 2026 General Plan.
The plan includes three mentions of dark skies, largely tourism-focused, and keeping dark sky-compliant lighting in any new or updated infrastructure. The other area was updating the dark-skies ordinance in Camp Verde.
“We’re doing the General Plan right now, and we have dark sky components in here, and from this journal plan, we’re going to rewrite our zoning codes,” Town Councilwoman Patricia Seybold said. “So if there’s dark sky-compliant language in here, then it should be reflected in our zoning codes.”
Dave Inman, president of Dark Skies Verde Valley, said dark skies are important not only to see the stars, but also for plants and wildlife.
If plants receive too much light, they can over produce carbon dioxide and grow strangely; and if animals receive too much, hunting and prey habits can be disrupted.
“One of the most important things that we can do [is] if we incorporate lighting into design exterior, we have to pay attention to the quantity of blue light within the light source itself,” Inman said. “It is imperative that we do.
“The equation is specifically the content of blue light. That’s what reflects. That’s what causes erratic plant behavior.”
As a state delegate for Dark Skies International, Inman said he’s seen some good uses of community resources for events like stargazing parties in other parts of the state.
“In Fountain Hills, they’ve done, honestly, a fantastic job of really hearing what the community there wants to see,” he said “They’re building several different dark sky parks. They’re consulting with me as far as lighting control, … and again, it’s not for a huge event, it’s for people traveling through and are easily able to utilize these spaces.”
Town Councilwoman Robin Godwin said one community resource residents could use more of are the telescopes at the Camp Verde Community Library, which available for checkout, although Inman said the library itself isn’t in dark sky lighting compliance.
“The Camp Verde Community Library now has two Celestron Astro Master 114 telescopes for our patrons to check out,” the library posted on Facebook on Sept. 8. “Each check out comes with the telescope, carrying case, two lenses, a planisphere for finding items in the night sky, and a binder with instructions and a quick setup guide.
“Each telescope can be checked out for one week and must be checked out at our PC Help Desk or Customer Service Desk.”
Inman said if enough of Camp Verde is too bright or has too much blue light output, Camp Verde could lose its status as a dark sky community.
Town Council is still seeking community input on the 177-page 2026 General Plan in all areas, not just dark skies. The plan is on the town’s website.
To provide feedback, fill out the form at forms.office.com/r/z7mjdmhQps or email generalplan@campverde.az.gov. Council’s next meeting is Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 6 p.m. at Town Hall. Dark Skies Verde Valley’s next meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 6, at 5:30 p.m. in the Camp Verde Community Library.
CVUSD Donation
Dark Skies Verde Valley recently announced a donation of dark sky compliant light fixtures to the Camp Verde Unified School District, which isn’t required to be compliant with the town’s overall dark sky initiatives, but had the opportunity to be, because of the donation.
“We have some older lighting that is less efficient and so old we were having trouble finding replacement parts,” CVUSD Superintendent Steve Hicks wrote in a recent email.
“This donation is much appreciated. We are grateful to Mr. Inman and Lighting Unlimited for thinking of us. We are happy to comply with Camp Verde’s dark sky initiative and becoming more efficient in the process.”
Inman said the donation was more than $33,000 worth of light fixtures.
He helped redesign the lighting at all eight of W.L. Gore’s business campuses in Flagstaff, which also has strict dark sky zoning ordinances, but by the time he had been pulled in for the redesign, the contractor had already bought all the material he thought he needed, which included many 6,000-lumen fixtures that were adjustable. But the limit in Flagstaff is a hard 2,000 lumens. The light fixtures there cannot exceed that limit.
“We had 40 fixtures that were non-returnable because they were made-to-order,” Inman said. “So, they sat for a year.”
Inman said he eventually convinced his boss to donate them to the school district.
The fixtures are motion controlled and, using a Bluetooth connection, the minimum and maximum output can be set to be in compliance with Camp Verde’s dark sky ordinances, because there is not a hard-set limit on potential lumen output as in Flagstaff.
