Night Sky Call to Action

Greetings Fellow Supporter of Hill Country Night Skies,

We are reaching out to you because (best we can tell) you live in Bexar, Comal, or Kendall County. Right now, San Antonio has an opportunity to improve its dark skies, but we need your help to make it happen! Please take a few minutes to support a better outdoor lighting ordinance. Read on for more information and detailed instructions on how to submit comments to the city – thank you!

The City of San Antonio is in the middle of amending their Unified Development Code, which includes their Military Lighting Overlay District  Ordinance (MLOD). Night sky preservation is vital to military operations in San Antonio and beneficial to everyone who lives in or near the city.

Based on a request from the Hill Country Alliance, the city is considering an update that would limit the amount of allowable blue-white light in outdoor lighting. LED lights are available in warmer tones (less blue-white light), which reduces the amount of glare and light pollution coming from the fixture. Warmer tones are less impactful on both human health and wildlife health. Good outdoor lighting ordinances address this by limiting the correlated color temperature of outdoor lighting to 3000K - which is what we are requesting the city do in its Military Lighting Overlay District.

Next Wednesday, February 23, the Hill Country Alliance will present this amendment to the Planning Commission Technical Advisory Committee (PCTAC), who will decide if the proposed amendment should move forward in the process. Here is where you can help!

[Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State Zip]

February 14, 2022

City of San Antonio
Development Services Department
1901 South Alamo Street
San Antonio, TX 78204

Re: Unified Development Code Amendment no. 25-1

Dear Planning Commission Technical Advisory Committee:

[Organization/Business Name] would like to express support for the proposed amendments to the City of San Antonio Military Lighting Overlay District (MLOD) Ordinance 35-339.04.

Proper dark sky protections are essential to military operations in San Antonio and important to many who live here. We would like to see the regulations for MLOD outdoor lighting fixtures updated to account for changes in lighting technology. A maximum correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3000K aligns with International Dark-Sky Association and Illuminating Engineering Society standards.

A reduction in outdoor lighting CCT protects our views of the night sky, saves energy, and reduces glare. Recent studies show significant benefits to the health of humans, animals, plants, and insects when light pollution is diminished or eliminated altogether. [Organization/Business Name] recognizes night sky preservation as an important priority for our region. We appreciate the City of San Antonio and its vital leadership role on this issue.

Regards,

Please visit the City of San Antonio Development Services Department webpage and submit a public comment in support of revisions to Amendment No. 25-1.

https://www.sanantonio.gov/DSD/Resources/Codes/UDC-Amendment-Comments

You can write your own comment, or use the text provided below.

Proper dark sky protections are essential to military operations in San Antonio and important to many who live in the area. We would like to see the regulations for MLOD outdoor lighting fixtures updated to account for changes in lighting technology. A maximum correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3000K is aligned with International Dark-Sky Association and Illuminating Engineering Society standards.

A reduction in outdoor lighting CCT protects our views of the night sky, saves energy, and reduces glare. Recent studies show significant benefits to the health of humans, animals, plants, and insects when light pollution is diminished or eliminated altogether.

Thank you in advance for your support in this code amendment. The sooner you can email your letter of support and post your UDC Amendment Public Comment at the link above, the better.

Many thanks, 

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