Revelstoke council adopts new dark sky bylaw

This story is part of a feature that first appeared in print in Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine’s February 2023 issue. Read the entire e-edition here:

Revelstoke’s city council updated a city development bylaw with the new ‘dark sky’ amendment in January 2023. The amendment will change the lighting standards, reducing the maximum illumination levels allowed for all new developments and updates.

Steve Black, Director of Infrastructure and Planning for the city, writes, “Currently, many of the street lights in the community are not compliant with the [d]ark [s]ky objectives due to age, style, and the outdated illumination requirements in the Subdivision, Development and Servicing Bylaw,” in a report to council.

The new plan will provide the minimum lighting necessary, minimize light pollution, and reduce light trespass (when light reflects up into houses rather than down on the street).

The bylaw was last updated in 2007. Black says the outdated bylaw has created an overlighting situation in the community because the illumination intensity is based on roads and not community uses. The amendment will achieve the goal of a ‘dark sky’ by developing lighting zones for the community.

The new lighting zones designate lighting levels based on the needs of the area. For example, Lighting Zone one (LZ1) is low ambient light meant for areas with single-family homes. LZ2 comprises moderate ambient light for multifamily residential, institutional, churches, hospitals, hotels and schools. LZ3 is the maximum light an area in Revelstoke can have and is designated as moderately high ambient light for town centres, commercial corridors, high-use recreational areas and playing fields and commercial mixed-use.

New developments will have to comply with the new dark sky bylaw and install lights that point down, shining only where needed. Additionally, new updates the city makes will also need to comply with the bylaw amendment, including the globe lights downtown near Grizzly Plaza when they need to be replaced, said Black in a presentation to the council.