By Meghan Muldoon

WESTPORT–Town officials are taking a closer look at the growing impact of overly bright, attention-grabbing commercial lighting. Planning and Zoning Commission members say these displays are becoming harder to ignore and harder to regulate under current rules. They are also planning to amend the rules about parking, in light of the state’s new affordable housing law, H.B. 8002.

Commercial lights are a safety issue

At the heart of the discussion are public safety concerns, according to P&Z Chairman Paul Liebowitz who noted that police have raised alarms that flashing or highly visible lighting can distract drivers. 

“There is a nuisance factor or distraction factor,” Liebowitz said during a Zoning Regulation Revision Subcommittee meeting on Wednesday. “It attracts your attention, therefore you’re not watching the road.”

Current one-sentence rule not sufficient

In response, town staff have drafted a proposed text amendment to modernize Westport’s existing string lighting regulations. The current rule, just a single line, prohibits string lights on commercial properties except during the holiday season, defined as November 15 through January 15. Officials say that narrow provision no longer reflects the sophistication of today’s lighting technologies.

“You can definitely find examples where string lights, or lighting schemes in general, are creating something that we may not want to see up and down our Post Road,” Lebowitz said. 

Emphasizing the need for change, Liebowitz pointed to a recent example of a smoke shop that installed a window light which drew some complaints from residents. However, when officials reviewed the rules, they found the business was fully compliant because of the narrow scope of the current regulation.

Displays turning “night into day”

The proposed update would focus specifically on commercial properties and target effects such as animated displays, moving lights and color-changing features.deemed excessively bright or distracting. 

“Most of these [lighting] schemes function to attract your attention, so we have to be the keeper of the judgment as to whether it is excessive,” Liebowitz said, pointing to 24-hour fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations in neighboring Norwalk as some of the most glaring examples. “They are all trying to compete for your eye as you drive by, and they light up the landscape.”

The proposal would not apply to residential properties. 

“This is not addressing residential homes or what they do in their backyards,” Liebowitz emphasized.  “This is strictly within the commercial zone.”

To make enforcement more consistent, the draft ties compliance to measurable standards, such as limits on light spill, rather than subjective interpretation. It also recommends that decorative lighting be turned off within an hour of a business closing to reduce late-night illumination. Some exemptions would apply to lighting already approved through prior site plans.

Seeking public input

Officials stress that the goal is not to eliminate nighttime vibrancy but to curb garish displays that may pose safety risks, disrupt neighbors, and undermine the town’s commitment to preserving darker skies.

The subcommittee labeled the draft a “work in progress” and is inviting public comment on the regulation.

Parking pushback under new housing law

At Wednesday’s meeting, the subcommittee also shared an update on revisions to the town’s zoning regulations, which must be amended to comply with the state’s new affordable housing law, H.B. 8002.

A key point of discussion was parking. Under the law, developers can submit parking studies to justify providing fewer spaces, prompting commissioners to call for clearer standards and stronger oversight of those assessments. 

“We don’t just want to take a developer’s word for it,” said Commissioner Bre Injeski.

P&Z Director Michelle Perillie said she is still working through the law’s requirements and necessary changes but is confident the town will meet the July deadline.

The subcommittee is scheduled to review the revisions again on April 29.

Meghan Muldoon

^{_{Meghan Muldoon is a freelance journalist based in Darien, Connecticut. As a television and print journalist, Muldoon has covered state government and politics in Virginia and Connecticut.}}