Excessive home lighting has West Lake Hills neighbors asking for new restrictions

By Angie Beavin Updated: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 5:34 am Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 11:31 pm Related Content

WEST LAKE HILLS, Texas (KXAN) How bright is too bright when it comes to lighting on your home? Some people living in West Lake Hills are asking city leaders to crack down on what they feel is excessive outdoor lighting.

The City of West Lake Hills has an ordinance in place, which puts limits on how homeowners can light up their house and yard. The mayor says the ordinance has been around for a couple of decades, and the city never heard too many complaints about excessive lighting.

But over the last several months, some people living there asked city leaders to start enforcing the rules. As the mayor and staff started pouring over the ordinance, they realized it needs some updates and revisions for clarification.

For instance, it references lighting technologies no longer available and doesnt address newer technologies like LED lighting. The language, officials say, is vague and difficult to enforce.

While some homeowners complain neighbors lights are too bright and intrusive, others say any revisions of lighting restrictions need to be loose.

Theres been some concerns with having your lights out at 11 at night,said West Lake homeowner Darin Walker. It creates more safety issues than it does concerns about whether or not you can see the stars at night.

A city council subcommittee is working on re-drafting the lighting ordinance. They should have the new version done by the end of this week before opening it up for public comment at their next city council meeting.

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Excessive home lighting has West Lake Hills neighbors asking for new restrictions