Palo Alto’s City Council on Dec. 8 adopted a revised outdoor lighting ordinance designed to reduce light pollution, protect wildlife and reduce adverse health effects associated with nighttime lighting, voting 6–1 after lengthy public comment and council amendments.

Staff told the council the draft aligns with Dark Sky International principles and aims to require shielding, warmer color temperatures and curfews for nonessential outdoor lighting. Kelly Cha, senior planner, summarized the changes staff proposed after outreach and PTC input, including a two-list structure of fully exempted and conditionally exempted lighting and a neighborhood-specific security exemption for Edgewood properties abutting San Francisco Creek. Cha said staff would prepare a second-reading ordinance and that the new requirements would become effective 30 days after the second reading.

The council’s final motion adopted the staff proposal with several notable modifications: moving the residential curfew start to 11 p.m. (from midnight), removing language that limited applicability only to fixtures replaced with a building permit, and shortening a compliance window for easily adjustable fixtures from two years to one year. The motion also included direction to staff to explore utility incentives for voluntary retrofits, consider objective alternatives to costly light studies, and align rooftop/outdoor-above-ground curfews with the newly adopted curfew. The motion was moved and seconded on the floor and passed on roll call, 6–1.

Supporters included conservation and bird-protection groups and many residents. Dasha Leeds of the Sierra Club Loma Prieta chapter thanked staff and urged application of the standards to new and replacement fixtures so the ordinance “can improve the lighting in Palo Alto over time” rather than only at the permit stage. Commenters representing the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance and student climate groups said lowered, shielded lighting would reduce bird collisions and protect migratory pathways.

Opponents and some businesses warned about retrofit costs and feasibility, particularly for large commercial parcels such as research parks. Stanford Research Park representative Tiffany Griego urged applying new standards only to newly constructed or substantially renovated buildings or to fixtures that require building permits, citing potential parking-lot redesign and utility easement work that can make retrofits costly. Staff acknowledged retrofit costs and said the city would pursue outreach and possible incentive programs rather than immediate all-at-once replacement of streetlights.

Council discussion also addressed an Edgewood exemption that would exclude a row of homes fronting San Francisco Creek from some lighting requirements because of neighborhood security concerns; the council and staff said the exemption would preserve the curfew for those properties while exempting other technical requirements. Legal counsel explained the exemption would be evaluated under the rational-basis standard.

The ordinance will return for a second reading, after which staff said it would publish educational materials and an online resource page and set an effective date 30 days following that second reading.