Southampton - The Southampton night sky continues to darken as the shortest day of the year gets closer and with the new Dark Skies legislation passed by the Southampton Town Board, future winter nights may be filled with more natural light from the stars above, rather than the spotlight from a neighbor's garage or an over-lit shopping center nearby.

Light pollution can make it impossible to see the universe at night. Photo courtesy of International Dark Sky

The finalized Dark Skies legislation, which passed the board four-to-one after two and a half years of debate, is, at its heart, an attempt at compromise. The main goals of the new law are "to protect our starry night sky by reducing upward directed light," according to Councilwoman Nancy Graboski, who spearheaded the legislation, "And we want to conserve energy. This law will help us do that." While the law sets standards for light fixtures, including total allowable wattage, the range of angles lights can be positioned at, the type of lenses and the hours they can be left on, the board made a concession to the business community by not setting amortization provisions that would have required everyone with existing lighting in Southampton to bring themselves into compliance with the law by a certain date.

Though existing lighting schemes are deemed pre-existing and will not be forced to comply, the law does provide for addressing "nuisance lighting," which is defined in the final draft as "any outdoor lighting that creates a potential hazard to the public or light trespass or glare to neighboring properties, thereby causing loss of enjoyment, comfort or repose." All new lighting will be required to comply with the legislation, however, "If there's [existing] lighting that's intrusive, we've included in the law a section that treats it as a nuisance," Graboski explained, "Sometimes it's as easy as turning the light." Properties found to have nuisance lighting will have 30 days to comply.

Porch lights emitting 60 watts or less and flood lights at less than 100 watts, angled at no more than 45 degrees, are permitted under the law. Anything brighter than these levels must be shielded or set with a full cutoff lens, though many times compliance will merely require a lower-wattage bulb or a sharper downward angle. Cutoff lenses are flat plates of glass, rather than the cobra-head style most often seen on streetlights and along highways. "None of that light is going above the horizontal," Graboski said of the cutoff lens, "It reduces the ability of that light to shine on another property." Examples of areas that are currently using these fixtures are Bridgehampton Commons and the King Kullen shopping center in Hampton Bays, both of which comply with the new Dark Skies legislation.

Southampton Town Councilwoman Nancy Graboski ushered the legislation through two and a half years of deliberation. Photo by Kelly Carroll

Safety is still a primary concern, and the new law distinguishes between "essential," lighting necessary for walkways and entrances, and "non-essential" lighting, such as landscape or decorative lighting. For non-essential lights, the law encourages home and business owners to use motion sensors and timers, though their use is only encouraged, not mandated. The goal is to "reduce energy waste," Graboski said, "We're urging people not to leave lights on from dusk to dawn."

Holiday lights, flagpole uplighting and lights illuminating public monuments are exempt from the law; neon, daytime-running lights and any fixtures that revolve, blink or scroll are explicitly prohibited.

"I had a phone call from someone in North Sea," Graboski recalled, citing the importance of the legislation, "There is no question that because of where she is, when you look toward Southampton you can see the glow. If you get people to dim their lights, we can regain that starry night sky."