The Jaffrey Planning Board has directed its staff to draft policies that will help to limit light pollution to incorporate into its site plan and subdivision approvals.
During its meeting on Tuesday, the Planning Board discussed the possibility of rules to make Jaffrey more in line with the “Dark Sky” movement, which aims to limit artificial light pollution overnight.
Planning Director Doug Dumont defined it as “excessive or misdirected light” that impacts community character, wildlife, safety and energy costs. Dumont provided the board with materials and model language provided by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to review.
Dumont told the board there are two regulatory avenues for them to pursue, if they are in favor of dark sky regulations.
The first is by changing the standards in the town’s site plan and subdivision regulations, which would apply to any new or expanding construction. The board could require lighting plans and cut-off lighting and put limits on upward-directed lighting and lumens.
Regulation changes could be enacted by the board following a public hearing for community input.
The second option, Dumont said, was a zoning amendment, which could extend dark-sky protections town-wide, but would require a Town Meeting vote and support from a majority of the voting public.
Planning Board member Margaret Dillon spoke in favor of adopting regulations in one form or another.
“Clearly, I am in support of the dark skies movement, and it’s about excessive or unwanted artificial lighting,” Dillon said. “From what I understand, and I haven’t researched it a great deal, the cost of a fixture that is fully cut off is not that much greater, if any greater, than not.”
Dillon said that she had previously thought that the town’s current standards of “downward cast” lighting was the same as “full cut-off” fixtures that emit light only in the downward direction by having shielded tops and sides. She said she’s since learned that they are not, and that downward cast lighting can provide more light pollution than full cut-off fixtures.
She said lighting restrictions can be advantageous for neighbors and for wildlife that can be interrupted by lights, and that they protect the town’s rural character, which is important for economic development.
Member Keith Dupuis said that he agreed in theory, but said that there were certain situations where the regulations might butt heads with safety regulations, such as security lighting in parking lots.
“You can’t meet them in certain situations,” said Dupuis, referencing guidelines provided in the materials the board was reviewing. He said there may be other instances where the board may want to make exceptions, such as flagpole lighting, which is typically upward-cast.
Chair Amy Meyers asked the board if they wanted to move forward with the discussion about adding dark-sky lighting regulations, asking, “Do we agree that this kind of a policy suits the rural character of Jaffrey?”
The board agreed that it did, and Meyers directed Dumont to draft a regulatory policy for the board to review that accounted for dark-sky policy and existing regulations regarding safety.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.