Officials interested in becoming a certified Dark Sky community
Frisco soon could begin educating its residents about the benefits of darkening the night sky by reducing pollution from artificial lightning on streets, businesses and homes.
During a work session on March 26, the Town Council discussed whether Frisco should pursue an International Dark Sky Community certification. Community Development Director Katie Kent said the designation recognizes towns and cities across the world that have preserved the night sky by implementing policies and educating the public.
Several Colorado mountain communities — including Crestone, Ridgway and Westcliffe — are Dark Sky-certified, according to a staff memo included with the Town Council’s agenda. Other Colorado municipalities — including Breckenridge, Estes Park and Durango — are working on certification.
Dark skies improve bird migration, human sleep cycles and energy efficiency, Frisco planner Emma Heth said. Heth said some studies have shown that excess lighting hurts — rather than helps — safety and security. But perhaps most importantly, she said dark skies can help people reconnect with the stars.
Local Dark Sky advocates met with city workers this year to encourage the town to consider pursuing the certification, Kent said. A Dark Sky certification would involve creating additional regulations on outdoor lighting in town, she said, without getting into specific code changes that would have to occur.
The program also would require all lighting to come into compliance within 10 years, Kent said. Lighting that currently exists in town that doesn’t comply with the Dark Sky requirements could not be grandfathered in and would need to be updated, she said.
Since 2008, Frisco has required full cut-off outdoor lighting fixtures that are fully shielded and downcast, according to the staff memo.
To pursue a certification, the first step would be to submit a request to join the Darksky International application pipeline, costing $250, Kent said. Once in the pipeline, the town would be eligible for technical assistance from the state and the nonprofit Darksky Colorado.
Given the requirements involved to become certified, town staffers concluded that an outreach and education campaign encouraging voluntary compliance would be a good place to start, Kent said.
Town Council members agreed, with some suggesting that the town pay the $250 to get in the pipeline so that it can start looking at what steps need to be taken to achieve certification.
“I’m in full support. I think I’d prefer to see us lead the way,” Mayor Hunter Mortensen said. “Let’s start turning our stuff off when we don’t need it. We’re doing all these other things to make the world a slightly better place, and I don’t see why we keep our street lights on so late and some of the things we do with lighting.”
Mortensen, who suggested creating town codes about how late streetlights can stay on and what time businesses that aren’t open have to turn their lights off, said he has spent many nights on the face of Mount Royal during backcountry rescues and looked down on the town of Frisco below.
“It is truly appalling,” Mortensen said. “From that perspective, we look to me like a little, mini Vegas for no reason.”
Kent noted that one of the difficulties for Frisco is that many large sources of light, such as St. Anthony Summit Hospital or the middle school, are controlled by the county.
Council member Jessica Burley suggested Frisco get in the application pipeline so it can get technical support to map out what exists in town and get a better picture of what would need to change to make the skies darker.
Kent also noted that education on the benefits of dark skies has begun, to an extent. The Frisco Historic Park & Museum, for example, is working on an event to educate the public about how light can impact wildlife migration patterns, she said.