When protecting natural darkness becomes a priority, municipal policy initiatives to protect the night sky will follow. Community engagement, action and education are critical to developing effective plans and policies.
The Planners & Decision Makers Toolkit offers a suite of resources to aid and educate planners and decision makers to better understand the implications of dark sky conservation and to plan for and implement effective policies.
An introductory guide for local leaders about dark sky conservation benefits and planning best practices.
Utah Community Development Office in partnership with the Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative
This worksheet guides users through several evaluation methods which could be used for a general assessment of dark sky-friendly lighting in a community. (Update-6-11-19)
Utah Community Development Office in partnership with the Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative
By applying these five principles, properly designed electric lighting at night can be beautiful, healthy, and functional. Projects that incorporate these principles will save energy and money, reduce light pollution, and minimize wildlife disruption.
International Dark-Sky Association & the Illuminating Engineering Society
This brief defines the concept of “dark sky development” and outlines several economic benefits of dark sky conservation. The purpose is to provide dark sky advocates with talking points for communicating the economics of dark skies to decision-makers.
Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative
Utah Office of Tourism, Destination Development
Nine steps of action for effectively approaching communities in dark sky conservation.
Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative & IDA Utah Chapter
A primer on the basic components of a lighting ordinance.
Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative
An interactive breakdown of what a lighting ordinance is, the different formats it may take, links to examples, and best practices.
Utah Community Development Office in partnership with the Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative
Code enforcement is a critical, and overlooked aspect of successful implementation of a lighting ordinance. This guide defines code, describes why enforcement is important, and outlines actionable strategies.
Utah Community Development Office
A 13-minute overview of good neighbor policy considerations including a description of common law nuisance, the definition of light trespass, indications for how to find appropriate lighting, and illustrations on how to make good neighbor behaviors both compulsory and durable.
John Barentine, Former Director of Public Policy at International Dark Sky Association
Struggling to visualize what a community lighting inventory looks like? Helper, UT was one of the first cities in the nation to have a thorough lighting inventory. Click the link above to interact with an ArcGIS Dashboard featuring collected data points for 487 public light fixtures.
Courtesy of Helper City and the Utah Community Development Office
International Dark-Sky Association
Scenic Utah