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Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council

The Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council provides advice on solving the problems of glare, light trespass, energy waste, and skyglow caused by careless and excessive use of outdoor lighting. The goal of the POLC is to improve outdoor lighting practices in Pennsylvania by educating municipal officials and the public about good outdoor lighting. Good outdoor lighting provides the right amount of light, not too little and not too much, while minimizing glare, light trespass and energy consumption. Good outdoor lighting uses energy wisely and avoids the safety and nuisance problems of obtrusive lighting.

The Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council works directly with individuals to solve outdoor lighting problems and with municipal governments to develop outdoor lighting ordinances that promote outdoor lighting quality for the comfort and safety of the municipality's residents and businesses. An important part of the POLC's work involves its Model Outdoor Lighting Ordinances which can be extremely useful when a municipality lacks specific expertise with lighting issues, and seeks well designed ordinance language that can be tailored to its specific needs.

The POLC has conducted outdoor lighting workshops for municipal officials in the following Pennsylvania counties. A new series of lighting workshops for code officials has been launched. If you would like to organize one in your area, please let us know.

  Pennsylvania Association of Zoning Officials (PAAZO) Bucks County, March, 2011   Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Conference, April, 2011
  Dauphin County, March, 2010   Chester County, December, 2010
* Southern Chester County, May, 2009 * Lancaster County, April, 2009
* Potter County, June, 2008 * Bucks County, March, 2007
* Lehigh County, May, 2008 * Montgomery County, March, 2006
* Berks County, April, 2008 * Berks County, March, 2002
* Chester County, October, 2007 * Delaware County, August, 2001
   * In partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

NEWS:  POLC has made application to the International Dark-sky Association for Hopewell Big Woods - International Dark Sky Reserve Click here (Word doc)

NEWS:  The POLC Model Lighting Ordinances are available in three versions: one for zoning ordinances, one for subdivision & land development ordinances and a stand-alone ordinance. For the latest model ordinances along with some existing outdoor lighting ordinances in Pennsylvania, click here.

NEWS:  The POLC Outdoor Lighting Toolkit for Homeowners is available now. Download it. (pdf)


Outdoor Lighting and Light Pollution Links:


POLC is the Pennsylvania Chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association


To send an e-mail to POLC click here or address to polcouncil@polcouncil.org

You can write to the Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council at:

1438 Shaner Drive, Pottstown, PA 19465.


POLC is an official iConserve Pennsylvania partner




POLC is an official Hopewell Big Woods partner





This site is maintained by: Barry Johnson, a Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council volunteer