MALIBU—The Malibu City Council voted unanimously on Monday, April 23 to approve the proposed Dark Sky Ordinance. The ordinance is aimed to protect Malibu’s “rural character and quality of life, protect wildlife and habitats from light pollution,” the city’s website states.
The ordinance also serves to preserve the night-time sky and Malibu’s aim to conserve energy and natural resources. The goal of the Dark Sky Ordinance is to reduce night-time light pollution to preserve night skies by adding comprehensive citywide outdoor lighting standards to the Malibu zoning code.
The ordinance will go into effect in October 2018, where grace periods have been drafted into the ordinance to assist residents and business owners with the implementation process. Some provisions will take effect on October 15. The city has conducted several community workshops and meetings as part of developing the ordinance, including education about the impacts of light pollution on people and nature, model lighting ordinances that have been adopted in other cities, and light pollution-reducing lighting technologies.
The ordinance aims to provide safe and effective levels of outdoor lighting by ensuring lighting is used when and where it is needed and that it does not indiscriminately cause light pollution. In 2013, the Malibu City Council enacted a citywide outdoor lighting ordinance that was created with assistance from the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). The IDA is a United States-based non-profit organization started in 1988 by astronomers to preserve the nighttime environment and reduce light pollution.
Other ordinances considered by the city included the Pattern Outdoor Lighting Code of 2010 and the Model Lighting Ordinance of 2011. The second reading of the final ordinance will be considered by the City Council on Monday, May 14.
