Shaping light pollution regulations with your Dark Sky input 

Thank you to everyone who shared your thoughts, your stories and your insights around how the City of Guelph should consider managing light pollution through our Dark Sky engagement process.

The community input expressed a desire for taking steps to address light pollution, but not to the extent of establishing Guelph as a Dark Sky Preserve, as designated by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Because we won’t be seeking a Dark Sky designation, our work on bylaws and regulations to address excessive lighting in Guelph will be referred to as light pollution bylaws or regulations going forward. 

On July 3, 2024, we presented a report to Council at the Committee of the Whole meeting, recommending a phased approach to addressing and reducing light pollution and light trespass. You can read the full report as part of the council meeting packet on our main website.

On July 23, council passed the following motions:

1. That Council direct staff to create a by-law or an amendment to the existing property standards by-law (2000)-16456 regulating light generated from fixtures from trespassing from one private property to another private property.
2. That Council direct staff to create lighting guidelines that encourage the use of full cut off light fixtures. These guidelines will allow the residents to adjust their outdoor lighting to eliminate light pollution.

How we listened

We held two community workshops in November 2023 to share a little about the bylaw process, explore reasons the community might have for reducing excessive lighting at night and hear ideas on the development and enforcement of a possible Dark Sky bylaw or guidelines.

Based on what we heard, some level of regulations was appropriate in Guelph so we came back to the community in January and February 2024 to ask:

• Is light pollution a problem in Guelph?
• What level of City involvement could be appropriate in managing light pollution?
• Who should any regulations apply to?

You can read the summary of what we heard on this page or in the council report package

For more information, contact: