NEW OUTDOOR LIGHTING BYLAW ADOPTED AT 2023 TOWN MEETING

An Outdoor Lighting Guide published by Nantucket Lights is available to help property owners comply with the new bylaw. It's available online at no cost here and complimentary hard copies are available to architects, builders, lighting designers, and electricians upon request.

In the fall of 2024, in a project co-sponsored by Nantucket Lights and the Town, a team of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) students inventoried all town-owned outdoor lighting to help the Town come up with an action plan to bring its lighting into compliance with the new bylaw.

Click here to read their report. 

In November 2024, in partnership with the Nantucket Builders Association, we held a Lunch & Learn for architects, designers, builders, and electricians about the new outdoor lighting regulations. The lunch buffet was courtesy of Nantucket Electrical Contractors. 

In June of 2025, in collaboration with Nantucket Lights and DPW, Dr. Bryan Boulanger — Chair of Ohio Northern University’s civil and environmental engineering department — inventoried and assessed all the outdoor lighting owned by the Town. His 118-page report, covering 1,420 fixtures and  including recommendations for upgrades to comply with our new outdoor lighting bylaw, will help the Town come up with an action plan and also satisfy one of the requirements for Nantucket to be certified as an International Dark Sky Community. Thanks to an endowment and complimentary housing offered by a Nantucket Lights supporter, this was done at no charge.

(While the inventory compiled by the WPI student team in 2024, mentioned above, was a good first step, it was missing some key information so we asked Dr. Boulanger if he would be willing to finish the job and then provide his recommendations for upgrades as he has done for others seeking International Dark Sky Place certification. Luckily, he said Yes!)