Light Pollution – Sanibel Island, FL

Initially outdoor light ordinances were adopted by communities with research observatories at the urging of astronomers. But star-gazing is not the only reason for regulating night lighting. Many of Florida’s oceanfront communities have adopted lighting codes to protect the nesting sea turtles along beaches. Sea turtle hatchlings instinctively head toward light. Before electric lighting, bioluminescence and the reflection of the moon on the water made the ocean brighter than the land. But due to light pollution, hatchlings often head inland. The strict limits on street lighting on Sanibel Island aim to remedy the imbalance between the unnatural brightness of the shoreline and the natural bioluminescence of the sea.

Below is Sanibel Island’s zoning statutes pertaining to outdoor lighting as of 2009. Click here for the current full text of Sanibel’s outdoor lighting ordinances.

The International Dark-Sky Association is the primary on-line resource for light pollution information.

ARTICLE XIV.  SUPPLEMENTARY DISTRICT REGULATIONS

DIVISION 4.  OUTDOOR LIGHTING

(1)   All land uses.  A development permit is required to add or replace outdoor lights in the Gulf Beach or Bay Beach zones.

(2)   Single family and duplex dwelling units located on an individual lot.  No development permit is required to reposition, replace or add outdoor lights in accordance with the standards of this section; however, an electrical permit may be required depending on the extent of the work.

(3)   Other residential uses, including motels, cottages and other resort housing (regardless of structure type) and non-residential land uses.  A development permit is required to add, reposition, or replace outdoor lights mounted on poles higher than ten feet above the ground. In all other cases, no permit is required to add, reposition, or replace outdoor lights in accordance with the standards of this section.

(1)   All exterior lighting shall be designed and installed to prevent glare and light trespass. Light shall not be allowed to cause glare affecting motorists, bicyclists, or other users of roads, driveways, and bicycle paths. Light shall not trespass over property lines.

Only outdoor lights compliant with the standards of sections 126-998 and 126-999 and with the standards of sections 126-96 (for docks in the Bay Beach Zone) and 126-152 (for replacement lighting fixtures seaward of the 1974 Coastal Construction Control Line) are permitted in the Gulf Beach and Bay Beach zones.

(2)   Full cutoff fixtures must be used. Uplighting is prohibited. All outdoor lighting, including display, sign, building, parking lot, and aesthetic lighting, must use full cutoff fixtures, which shine light downward.

(3)   Functional equivalents allowed. Lights that are properly installed in an architectural space (such as under a porch roof or a roof overhang) which provides the functional equivalence of a full cutoff fixture, need not use full cutoff fixtures.

(4)   The illustrations contained in Appendix A to this section are intended to provide examples of fixtures and fixture positioning that comply (and that do not comply) with these standards, and are part of these regulations.

(5)   Mercury vapor lighting is prohibited. High pressure sodium lighting is permitted and encouraged.

(6)   Street lighting is, in general, inconsistent with Sanibel’s rural character. No street lights shall be installed or maintained on private streets, roads, and rights-of-way.

(7)   In residential settings, motion-detecting security lighting is permitted and encouraged in order to maximize safety, minimize overall illumination, and conserve energy.

(8)   Parking lot lights for nonresidential land uses shall, individually and in aggregation with other outdoor lights, not exceed a maximum site illumination of ten footcandles, measured at two feet above ground level.

(1)   All temporary emergency lighting needed by the police or fire departments or other emergency services, as well as all vehicular luminaires.

(2)   Lighting for public streets, roads, and rights-of-way, except that such lighting shall be reviewed in accordance with section 78-7, applying the policies set forth in Ordinance No. 00-10, as well as general policy 9 in the Plan for Scenic Preservation of the Sanibel Plan: “In order to maintain the dark sky of this nonurban community, minimize outdoor lighting.”

(3)   All hazard warning luminaires required by federal or state regulatory agencies are exempt from the requirements of this subsection. Unless otherwise mandated, all luminaires used must be yellow/amber and must be shown to be as close as possible to the federally or state required minimum lumen output requirement for the specific task.

(4)   Holiday lighting, as specified in subsection 106-3(13).

(5)   The Sanibel Lighthouse light.

(1)   Upon the effective date of Ordinance No. 00-10, all luminaires that direct light toward streets, bicycle paths, or parking lots that cause glare to motorists or cyclists shall be either shielded or redirected so that the luminaires do not continue to cause a potential hazard.

(2)   All luminaires, not identified in paragraph (1) above, shall be permitted to remain until January 1, 2015. By this date, all outdoor lights shall be brought into compliance with the standards of this section.

However, any luminaire that replaces a lawfully existing luminaire, or any lawfully existing luminaire that is moved, must meet the standards of this section.

a.   The point source of light or any reflective surface of the light fixture is not directly visible from the beach;

b.   Areas seaward of a frontal, or primary dune are not directly, indirectly, or cumulatively illuminated.

a.   Set on a base which raises the source of light no higher than 48 inches off the ground; and

b.   Positioned or shielded so that the light is cast downward and the source of light or any reflective surface of the light fixture is not visible from the beach and does not directly, indirectly, or cumulatively illuminate the beach.

a.   The point source of light or any reflective surface of the light fixture is not directly visible from the beach; and

b.   Areas seaward of a frontal or primary dune are not directly, indirectly, or cumulatively illuminated.

a.   Repositioning fixtures so that the point source of light or any reflective surface of the light fixture is no longer visible from the beach;

b.   Replacing fixtures having an exposed light source with fixtures containing recessed light sources or shields;

c.   Replacing traditional light bulbs with yellow “bug” type bulbs not exceeding 25 watts;

d.   Replacing nondirectional fixtures with directional fixtures that point down and away from the beach;

e.   Replacing fixtures having transparent or translucent coverings with fixtures having opaque shields covering an arc of at least 180 degrees and extending an appropriate distance below the bottom edge of the fixture on the seaward side so that the light source or any reflective surface of the light fixture is not visible from the beach;

f.   Replacing pole lamps with low-profile, low-level luminaries so that the light source or any reflective surface of the light fixture is not visible from the beach;

g.   Replacing incandescent, fluorescent, and high intensity lighting with the lowest wattage low pressure sodium vapor lighting possible for the specific application;

h.   Planting or improving vegetation buffers between the light source and the beach to screen light from the beach;

i.   Permanently removing or temporarily disabling any fixture which cannot be brought into compliance with the provisions of this division during the nesting season.

a.   Applying window tint or film which meets the transmittance values for tinted glass;

b.   Rearranging lamps and other moveable fixtures away from windows;

c.   Using window treatments, such as blinds and curtains, to shield interior lights from the beach; and

d.   Turning off unnecessary lights.