JACKSON, Wyo. — Last week, the Teton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) took up a proposed amendment to county land development regulations (LDRs) that aims to reduce light pollution in the valley. The Jackson Town Council will visit the same topic at a future meeting.
On Tuesday, March 17, the BCC held a lengthy discussion brought forward by Sam Singer, founder and executive director of local nonprofit Wyoming Stargazing. Singer has been working with local governments for the last decade to make the Milky Way more visible in the valley. After the Teton County Planning Commission recommended approval of an amendment to exterior lighting standards in February, the BCC streamlined its direction and approved two separate amendments: one prohibiting all exterior unshielded light fixtures; and another expanding the winter time period when outdoor string lighting is allowed.
Commissioner Wes Garner, who voted in favor of expanding the string lighting exemption period and suggested increasing the time frame to include Halloween, did not support the motion to prohibit unshielded lighting.
“We’ve talked about community buy-in today, and I think that’s really important,” Gardner said, clarifying his vote against the unshielded light restriction. “My concern is that, as we create more friction, we reduce the likelihood that the community is going to buy in.”
The two amendments are set to go into effect on July 1 to allow time for designers and planners to make any necessary changes. The exemption period for string lighting varies within the valley, as the Town of Jackson (TOJ) currently permits string lights from Nov. 1 to April 15, and Teton County allows them to be used from Nov. 15 to Jan. 10. With the approved changes, future exemption windows will run from Oct. 25 to Jan. 15. Enforcement of the new rules is expected to rely mainly on voluntary compliance. Any lighting fixtures that are unshielded and noncompliant will be grandfathered in until the fixture needs to be replaced, which would require replacement with a compliant fixture.
“Public lights are easy — staff is already working toward that goal, and I know we’re going to hit 100% compliance of publicly owned lighting by 2030,” Singer said at the BCC meeting. “But to get private lighting there, voluntary compliance has to be a big part of the plan. I just don’t see any other way to do it because of the limitations that we have with enforcement.”
Public comments came from community members advocating for private property rights; airing frustrations with enforcement, fines, and LDRs; arguing for and against curfews for downtown core areas; and commending Wyoming Stargazing for its effort to make local skies darker.
The exemption period for string lights within town limits is also facing an imminent change, after the TOJ Planning Commission recommended approval of new rules at its meeting on March 18. An amendment that would align the town’s winter string light window with the county’s new dates will go before Town Council at a later date.
