Breckenridge's Dark Sky Initiative has been around for seventeen years, and the July 1, 2025 deadline was decided on to support our Dark Sky International Community Certification. The town is offering a six-month enforcement grace period. Private Property’s exterior lighting should be updated to comply and notify the town before January 2nd, 2026. 

(Except sign lighting, sign lighting has a compliance date of February 13, 2033.)

Breckenridge's Dark Sky Initiative has been around for seventeen years, and the July 1 Deadline was decided on to support our Dark Sky International Community Certification. The town is offering a six-month enforcement grace period. Private Property’s exterior lighting should be updated to comply and notify the town before January 2nd, 2026. 

Dark Sky International Guidelines mandate a 10-year amortization period based on lighting expert opinions, including the authors of the model ordinance, with the assumption that most outdoor lighting will be fully depreciated at the end of 10 years (if not sooner). 

The majority of jurisdictions in Colorado that have adopted Dark Sky Ordinances have adopted a 5-15 year amortization period to allow owners time for recoupment of the actual investment of the nonconforming structure.  Prior to pursing a Dark Sky certification, the Town initially adopted a 15-year conformance date and extended the deadline another 2 years to July 1, 2025 to give properties ample time to come into compliance. 

Yes, all of the exterior lighting installed on a house must be brought into compliance, not just the lights visible from the right of way. If you received a compliance letter with a photo, we only took a photo of the first noncompliant light that we saw, so you may have more. If you have questions on which of your lights are noncompliant, please reach out to us to schedule a site visit.

No, all lights fixtures are required to be brought into compliance by July 1, 2025. The Town originally adopted a 15-year conformance date and extended the deadline another 2 years to take into account existing light fixtures.

No, all lights fixtures are required to be brought into compliance by July 1, 2025. With a six-month grace period, enforcement will begin January 2, 2026. The Town originally adopted a 15-year conformance date and extended the deadline another 2 years to take into account existing light fixtures.

Bulbs are regulated by their Wattage, Lumens, and Color Temperature (Kelvin). All exterior light bulbs should meet the requirements listed below. 

 

 

Yes, you can modify certain styles of fixtures to be compliant with code. An acceptable retrofitted fixture must have a permanent opaque material (that does not allow any light to pass through) applied to it that extends to the lowest portion of the bulb or lower, or other permanent modification to the fixture approved by the Town staff that brings such fixture and light source into compliance with the requirements of this section. For more information check out our retrofit information page!  

*Please discuss with Town staff if seeking a retrofit solution. 

Contact Town Staff: lighting@townofbreckenridge.com or 970-453-3153 

 

Acceptable Retrofit Solutions: 

 

 

Not Acceptable Retrofit Solutions: 

 

*Retrofit solutions are required to be permanent and semi-fire resistant* 

Yes, please send the photo, link, and/or cutsheet to Town staff for compliance confirmation of the selected fixtures before purchase. This will ensure that your replacement light fixture is compliant with the code prior to purchasing!

 

Please email lighting@townofbreckenridge.com or call 970-453-3153.

The Dark Sky approval seal does not necessarily mean that the fixture also meets Town Code. Please send a photo or cutsheet to the Town staff for confirmation that your selected fixture will meet Town Code.

Please email lighting@townofbreckenridge.com or call 970-453-3153.

Yes! The database of approved retrofit options and light fixtures can be found here. The database is not an exhaustive list of retrofit or fixture options so we do also recommend looking at DarkSky International's database of approved fixtures. Most lighting websites also allow you to sort by Dark Sky certified fixtures but please keep in mind that Dark Sky certified does not necessarily guarantee the fixture meets Town Code.

If you are unsure about your light fixtures compliance or want to know the easiest way to update your homes light fixtures to comply, please contact town staff to schedule a site visit.

 

Contact Town Staff by email lighting@townofbreckenridge.com or call 970-453-3153.

Welcome to Breckenridge! Please reach out to us via email at lighting@townofbreckenridge.com or call 970-453-3153 to check the compliance status of your property. An overview of what lighting compliance is and what the requirements are can be found on the Exterior Lighting Information page. The compliance deadline is January 2, 2026 but if you have a plan for compliance that may not be completed by the deadline, please reach out to us and we can work with you to achieve compliance.

Yes, please fill out the form below after you have replaced or retrofitted your fixtures for Town staff to verify compliance. 

 

(Form Link)

Metal light fixtures can be recycled for free at the The Summit County Resource Allocation Park (SCRAP) , with light bulbs, glass, and plastic components removed. Metal halide bulbs can also be recycled at the SCRAP. Lowe’s has a drop off bin that accepts some other types of light bulbs. Glass can be recycled at the residential recycling center at (284 Coyne Valley Road, Breckenridge) or anywhere that accepts glass. 

Metal Fixtures and Metal halide bulbs can be recycled at 639 Landfill Road, Keystone CO (SCRAP). To recycle metal fixtures all light bulbs, glass, and plastic components MUST be removed.

Other Light Bulbs can be recycled at Lowe's, 201 Buffalo Mountain Drive, Silverthorne, CO.

Glass can be recycled at the residential recycling center, 284 Coyne Valley Road, Breckenridge, CO.

During June 2025, the Town also hosted a recycling collection program that resulted in 164 exterior light fixtures being collected from members of the public. Of those 164 fixtures, thirty-two were donated to a local Eagle Scout who is working on an upcycling project. The Town currently does not have plans to do another recycling collection program. 

 

 

The TOB will begin enforcement on January 2, 2026. The fine schedule will be the following:

Offense No.	Fine Amount
First offense	$250.00
Second offense	$500.00
Third offense	As determined by the municipal judge, subject to the limits insection 1-4-1-2of the code.

 

Please see Town Code Section 9-12-15 for more information or contact Town staff.

Temporary bistro lighting is permitted at an exterior food and beverage area designated by the site plan to provide light and ambiance in Lighting Zones 1 and 2. Bistro lighting is allowed for residential properties up to 150 square feet over a deck or patio in all zones. The term "temporary" as used in this section means from May 1 through October 31 of the same year. At all other times bistro lighting is unlawful. The following standards shall apply to temporary bistro lighting:

a. Be used only with "warm" color LED bulbs that do not exceed a temperature of two thousand eight hundred kelvins (2,800 K);

b. Be fully shielded and downcast;

c. For commercial uses all bistro lighting shall not be highly visible from the right-of-way when located on a rooftop (e.g., rooftop deck screened on a minimum of two (2) sides by wall, adjacent buildings, etc.), and must be set back a minimum of 5 feet from the rooftop edge.

Decorative (e.g., holiday) lighting is allowed in all lighting zones from November 1 through April 1 of the following year. In Lighting Zone 1 decorative lighting on commercial buildings has a curfew of 2:00 a.m. All other decorative lighting has a curfew of 11:00 p.m.

Allowable decorative lighting includes string lighting, consisting of bulbs no larger than three inches, that outline a building or structure following the trim line on an eave, window, or railing; or decorative string lighting in trees; or decorative string lighting between commercial or mixed-use buildings or to a post or structure forming a canopy over a walkway. Decorative lighting cannot fill in building features such as walls and roofs. The full decorative lighting code can be found here.

 Es la Temporada de Luces Decorativas (PDF)

Tis the Season for Decorative Lighting (PDF)

 

 

An electrical permit and Class D Minor permit for lighting compliance is required for:

1. Relocating a fixture
2. Adding a fixture
3. Removing a fixture (capping electrical wires)
4. New construction projects

A permit is not required for replacing a fixture in the same location.

Yes, the Town will be replacing all of the Town owned Welsbach fixtures with Providence fixtures within the next 5 years. Replacement work started summer of 2024. In 2025 we will convert/install 210 fixtures.  Our work areas include North Park Ave, South Park Ave, Town Hall lot, Tiger Dredge lot, F lot, Library lot, High St, Wellington Rd., Gold Flake Terrace, and South Pine St. However, there are some streetlights not owned or controlled by the Town which are owned by Xcel. The Town is currently in discussions with Xcel to have the non-compliant fixtures on those poles replaced. The 2025 Town light replacement plan can be found here.

Learn more about the benefits of the streetlight replacement: