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Ellisville Updates Lighting Regulations

On November 16, 2022 the City Council of Ellisville, Missouri approved changes to the zoning and sign codes. The intent of the changes is to decrease light pollution, eliminate glare, maintain property safety, preserve views of the night sky, promote energy efficiency, community health, and harmony between neighbors.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?

A goal of the changes is to provide light that is closest to the natural light seen from the sun and stars. The light required is in the yellow color spectrum, which minimizes the use of light in the blue color spectrum. Great effort was made to make sure the rules are easy to interpret, easy to administer, and easy to enforce.

  1. New and replacement outdoor light fixtures must be shielded so that the light shines downward — not upward which scatters light upward into the sky, nor directly sideways which results in horizontal glare that occurs when looking directly at a light bulb/lamp.
  2. New and replacement outdoor light bulbs/lamps must feature a low Correlated Color Temperature (CCT), not to exceed 2700 Kelvin (K). CCT is essentially a gauge of how yellow (low CCT) or blue (high CCT) the color of the light emitted from a bulb/lamp appears

HOW WILL THE ORDINANCE BE ENFORCED?

New developments will be required to provide an outdoor lighting plan that meets the requirements of the ordinance before construction and an as-built plan after construction to verify the light installation is compliant.

Residential property owners who change or replace their outdoor light fixtures or bulbs/lamps after the adoption of the ordinance, will have to comply at the time the fixture or bulb is modified.

City staff are available to answer any questions to assist in determining compliance.  Please contact: Bill Schwer, City Manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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