LEWES, Del. - The Lewes Environmental Subcommittee met for their meeting on Monday, August 26 at 1 p.m. to discuss their Dark Skies Initiative.
The committee will be discussing existing lighting regulations and potential updates, education and pilot projects. The dark skies presentation shows the overall goal is to minimize light pollution.
The committee says light pollution will help the visibility of stars at night, as well as improve the health, welfare and safety of people and wild life.
The proposal to minimize light pollution was first put on the table in November 2023.
The main focus of the initiative is on street lights which was shown in a presentation during the meeting.
Dark Skies Initiative Presentation in Lewes.
Sally Boswell of Preserve Our Park says her concerns also lie with the stadium lights at new schools in Sussex County. "I think they've had a lot of lights on kind of 24 hours a day as they've gotten the interiors of the schools ready for school."
Boswell also shared that the initiative can benefit the health and safety of people and wildlife.
"The darker we can make it, the better it is for our own health, for sleeping and the better it is for bird and animals, and particularly the migrating ones."
Boswell shared this area is a unique environmental area due to it being one of the main eastern migratory routes for birds. She also shared that this area is a major monarch butterfly route.
Planning and Building Manager at the Lewes City Hall, Janelle Cornwell, told CoastTV that the committee will continue to meet to create a draft that every one is comfortable with. Once they have a final draft, it will be passed along to the planning commission.