City of Asheville: On November 25, 2008 the City of Asheville amended its original 2002 outdoor lighting ordinance (Asheville). Find it in Part II, Chapter 7, Article XI,
Section 7-11-10 of the City's Code of Ordinances.
Find highlights of the City of Asheville 2008 outdoor lighting ordinance changes here.
Town of Woodfin: Woodfin implemented an outdoor lighting ordinance (Woodfin) in October 2009. Find it in Chapter 152 of the town's Code of Ordinances.
Town of Weaverville: Weaverville implemented an outdoor lighting ordinance (Weaverville) in 2007. Find it in Chapter 36 (Zoning), Article I, Section 36-26, of the town's Code of Ordinances.
Town of Black Mountain: Black Mountain implemented its outdoor lighting ordinance (Black Mtn.) in 2004. Find it in Chapter 103 of the town's Code of Ordinances; it is located on page 83 of the above file link.
Outdoor Lighting Ordinances in our Region:
Jan. 17, 2012: The Buncombe County Commissioners approved the new proposed outdoor lighting standards along with four critical amendments.
Contact the Buncombe County Commissioners to thank them for their vote to implement these lighting standards that will provide a better quality of life for Buncombe County residents. Commissioner Peterson was the lone dissenting vote.
Other Outdoor Lighting Ordinances:
In Buncombe County four incorporated towns/cities do have outdoor lighting ordinances: Asheville, Woodfin, Weaverville and Black Mountain (a complete copy of each town's ordinance is linked below). None of these ordinances are "dark-sky" ordinances, although Woodfin's ordinance is the nearest one to such. If you live in one of these incorporated areas, then the town's ordinance has jurisdiction rather than Buncombe County's ordinance.
The untold story about Progress Energy and outdoor lighting:
Progress Energy (PE) - soon to be Duke Energy- has their fingerprints all over 3 of these 5 ordinances (Buncombe County and Woodfin are the exceptions). PE engages with communities that want outdoor lighting ordinances. They steer the process, and set these ordinances up in a way that minimizes or completely omits restrictions on street lights, the obnoxious dusk-to-dawn security lights, parking lot lights, and on most of their own outdoor lighting products (all of which PE sells, leases, maintains and installs). In other words, PE does not restrict the products they market (the very ones that create the most light pollution!). Instead they set up rather token outdoor lighting ordinances. Weaverville and Black Mountain are good examples of token PE lighting ordinances; they lack any real effective lighting restrictions.
PE also works to exempt certain downtown and historic areas completely from the lighting ordinances. This explains the glaring light "bombs" in downtown Asheville and in Biltmore Village. Those lights are called "historical"! The excessive, unshielded luminosity of these fixtures is about as far from the historical gas and candle lamps as one can get! Of course, these "historical" fixtures also add immensely to our carbon footprint.
Asheville's ordinance is better than the typical PE ordinance because some community members fought to make some compromised changes in 2008, despite PE's vocal opposition. Buncombe County's and Woodfin's ordinance are the best in our area because PE was not directly involved in the drafting of its restrictions. Having PE help write a community's outdoor lighting ordinance is like asking the fox to write a protection plan for the hen house!
A complete set of these new lighting standards integrated with the four amendments can be found in Sec. 78-668 of the Buncombe County Code of Ordinances.
