Dark skies becomes law, board votes 3-2 to pass it

After months of debate, hot tempers, accusations of  bad faith and supercharged rhetoric, the Shelter Island Town Board passed lighting regulations — so-called “dark skies legislation” — at its regularly scheduled meeting Friday. The new law will affect some businesses and residences.

There was a smattering of applause in the meeting room when the final vote was tallied.

No minds on the board were changed after the long process, with members voting on positions they had staked out since April. Voting for the new regulations, which codified rules on light trespassing across property lines and other forms of excessive lighting, were Supervisor Jim Dougherty, Councilwoman Chris Lewis and Councilman Peter Reich. Opposed were Councilmen Paul Shepherd and Ed Brown.

The process of voting is that first the proposed resolution is read, with each board member taking a turn in the order of where they sit.

When the dark skies law came to be read, it fell to Mr. Shepherd, the most vocal and passionate advocate opposing the regulations, to do the honors. “Cruel irony has me reading the local lighting law,” Mr. Shepherd said, to some laughter.

With passage of the law, Shelter Island now joins the four other East End towns to enact dark skies legislation.