Save the Night | Be the Solution, Stop Light Pollution
Save the Night | Be the Solution, Stop Light Pollution
While the lighting of signs is allowed under the bylaw (provided it satisfies all the applicable requirements), the most dark-sky and neighbor friendly thing to do would be to not light signs at all. So, please, first ask yourself whether lighting a sign is even necessary taking into account all nearby lighting.
Note that these restrictions are in addition to those adopted by the Historic District Commission. See Chapter 340 the Code of Nantucket (Town Regulations), Section 340-13 ("A sign may be illuminated for a business operating after sunset, provided that the wattage used does not exceed 450 lumens (under a thirty-watt incandescent bulb), is not fluorescent in style, and that the source of illumination shall be shielded and directed downward at the sign.")
To the extent the HDC regulations and the outdoor lighting bylaw are in conflict, the more restrictive provision controls. See bylaw Section 102-2B ("In case of a conflict between . . . any provision of [Chapter 102] and another provision of the Nantucket Code, the most restrictive provision shall control.")
Signs that are illuminated internally (i.e., the light source is within the sign itself, like in this photo of a sign on the mainland) – to the extent they are allowed by the Historic District Commission (see below) – are subject to the same restrictions that apply to externally illuminated signs except they don't have to be lit only from the top of the sign.
For business signs, the Historic District Commission only allows lighting that is "directed downward at the sign," which suggests that internally illuminated business signs would not be allowed. See Chapter 340 the Code of Nantucket (Town Regulations), Section 340-13 ("A sign may be illuminated for a business operating after sunset, provided that. . . the source of illumination shall be shielded and directed downward at the sign.")
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