Dobbins JLUS IMP Public Draft Light Pollution Study | Page 75
LOCAL COMMUNITIES’ OUTDOOR LIGHTING
REGULATIONS RELATED TO MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
The JLUS process has been utilized to examine local community development impacts on military installations for
the past 30 years. The combination of the increasing impact of development near military installations, the
technological advancement of night vision training and the expansion of night training missions have escalated the
need in the past decade in JLUS studies. This recognition has occurred across the country in many communities. A
representative sample of local regulation associated with military installations follows below.
Luke Air Force Base (AFB). Luke AFB, located in southwest Arizona, completed a JLUS in
early 1988 that did not identify light pollution as an issue. Subsequent studies have also not
identified this as an issue. 8 However, Arizona has led the country in concern over sky glow and
other impacts of light pollution and as a result, numerous local and state regulations have been
established.
In 1991, the State of Arizona required all fixtures to be fully or partially shielded.
The Maricopa County Association of Governments published a Draft Pattern Outdoor
Lighting Code in 2010 that is extensive in its breadth and scope. This model ordinance
was intended as a guide for local communities and identifies fully and partially-shielded
outdoor fixtures and other regulatory structures.
Maricopa County, the home of Luke AFB, has an extensive Dark Sky ordinance
regulating requirements for full or partial shielding of different light sources, restricting
the time of recreational lighting after 11:00 pm and requiring all lighting installed after
1985 to conform to these regulations.
Another local community, Buckeye, requires more extensive and different lighting
controls in their ordinance. Buckeye’s city ordinance requires full cutoff luminaires, no
up-lighting of any signage or building, motion sensor requirements for any security
lighting, and a restriction of one (1) foot-candle at the property boundary for any onsite
lighting.
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The study identified substantial growth in the impact of outdoor lighting from 1993 to
2006 utilizing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency satellite photography and
identified this as a long-term risk to the extensive night training missions located at the
base
Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) Study in 1995 and 2003
Eglin Air Force Base Joint Land Use Study, 2009
Appendix A:
White Paper – Communities Addressing Light Pollution that Affect Nighttime Military Training
One of the local communities, Destin, also has limited outdoor lighting. Destin’s code
has identified a limit of impact from outdoor lighting on adjacent property. From
residential uses, outdoor lighting on adjacent residential properties is restricted to 0.2
foot-candles and zero from commercial uses to residential uses. All light fixtures shall
meet the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America definition of cutoff fixtures.
The code also requires a plan that is professionally prepared measuring all off site
impacts.
Fort Walton, another local community, has added restrictions in its planned unit
development zone to require fully shielded outdoor lighting.
Recommended amending Okaloosa County’s Land Development Code (LDC), Chapter 3
to include a section for military compatible lighting. The major components of the
amendment include the following:
Section 3.10.00 Military Compatible Outdoor Lighting
The study stated the following in Section 1.3.4 Outdoor Lighting “Stationary or mobile
outdoor lighting can cause difficult and unsafe night flying conditions when located near
airfields or underneath airspace designated as low altitude Military Training Routes.
Night training operations are frequently conducted at the airfields on Eglin AFB and
within the military training routes that transition into airfields. These training operations
are conducted using night vision equipment that is degraded when exposed to bright
light. If pilots are unable to train with night vision goggles because of lights in the area
that are too bright, the pilots do not maintain the qualifications necessary to continue
flying. Assessing areas where bright ground lights could interfere with night operations
provides information for making decisions on locations of new light sources.” 9
Okaloosa County has restricted lighting in commercial zones to “No continuous light or
glare shall extend onto any adjacent or nearby property.”
Tri-County Small Area Studies. The Tri-County Small Area Studies were developed for the
communities surrounding Eglin AFB located in the panhandle of Florida in 2012 upon the
completion of the 2009 JLUS for which the small area studies were recommended. This study
was commissioned by Okaloosa County in partnership with Eglin AFB, Santa Rosa and Walton
counties, and numerous cities. The studies sought to develop turn-key ready-to-adopt ordinances
that would protect the long-term viability of the Eglin AFB Reservation by addressing standard
lighting controls for all the jurisdictions, recommendations for land uses and densities and
intensities of land uses in military impacted areas, and various other elements such as a sound
attenuation measures. Due to the unique and expansive geography, it was necessary to develop
individually unique ordinances for certain jurisdictions involved in the study. The study resulted
in the following recommendations regarding lighting controls:
Eglin Air Force Base. Located in the panhandle of Florida, Egli