On Monday evening, the Clarkesville City Council discussed adopting a new outdoor lighting ordinance aimed at protecting the city’s night skies, reducing glare, and guiding responsible lighting design for future development.
The ordinance sets standards for all new or modified exterior lighting, including requirements for full cut-off fixtures in parking areas and prohibitions on uplighting. The rules are designed to prevent light trespass across property lines and preserve natural nighttime conditions by minimizing upward illumination and glare. Internally lit signs will still be permitted, and exemptions are allowed for temporary holiday lighting, security lights on sensors, and lighting for American flags.
Councilman Don Nix supported the ordinance but raised a concern about its tone. “I think uplighting done right is effective, and I think we need to encourage more residential landscape lighting as opposed to discouraging it,” he said. “The lights on Washington Street give it a warm ambience that I think is important.”
Councilman Brad Coppedge suggested the city develop a preferred fixture list to help streamline the permitting process for developers. “I think it would be a little bit easier for developers to have a list of light fixtures to pull from, just so there are no questions and it’s not a discretionary thing,” he said. “It’ll move the whole process faster.”
In other business, the council also unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with Habersham County to join the Northeast Georgia Regional Radio Network. The agreement gives Clarkesville access to a new consolidated E-911 and public safety radio system managed by the county, offering stronger coverage, encrypted communication, and better coordination between agencies.
“These radios will work so much better than the system we have now. It’s night and day,” said City Manager Keith Dickerson, who noted that the switch will take place soon. “We’re 60 days out from the radios being installed.”
Dickerson added that the radios are currently undergoing extensive testing and that handheld units will be distributed as soon as the transition is complete.
Other items on the agenda approved by the council included the appointment of Alan Hoag to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the refurbishing of five Clarkesville police vehicles.
Now Habersham has updated the article to reflect that ordinance was not voted on, but rather discussed.
