Streetlights may play a factor, but they won’t necessarily break the deal when it comes to Sedona’s possible designation as a dark sky community.

Bob Parks, executive director for the International Dark-Sky Association, said he was contacted by members of the Sedona-based IDA group to draft a press release in order to clarify compliancy standards for the dark sky designation, but he would not comment on whether streetlights on State Route 89A would affect the city’s chances of receiving the designation.

“There’s a program called the International Dark-Sky places program, which certifies and recognizes dark skies, not just being dark, but for their commitment to keeping them dark and to managing the lighting in that area,” Parks said. “There has apparently been an application in the works for some time. There was a question of whether the lighting of a large stretch of highway through Sedona would impact the ability for Sedona to be certified. They asked me for a preliminary ruling on that.”

Parks would not specify who asked him to draft the release about IDA certification.

While he said he doesn’t make decisions on certification for the dark sky program, Parks said the guidelines for IDA designations are straightforward.

“It’s made by an international committee, the International Dark-Sky Places Committee. It’s an independent committee and not something the IDA controls. One of the guidelines is the area has to have a comprehensive, long-term management plan for public lighting. In Sedona there is an ordinance that takes care of city lighting,” Parks said.

There has been some misunderstanding about how lighting will affect the designation however, Parks said, particularly when it comes to plans for continuous roadway lighting.

“Somewhere along the line, everybody thought [Arizona Department of Transportation’s] idea of lighting two miles of highway continuously with 108 high-pressure sodium lights would be a good thing. However, it would actually degrade the skies over Sedona approximately 14 percent. It would be the largest major impact on the night sky in Sedona. I was asked and sent a release to clarify that one of the key factors in the certification is to put only the amount of light that’s necessary for safety, and use it only when it’s necessary, and that’s as important, or more important, than whether you use a dark sky compliant fixture,” Parks said.

Parks further questioned whether the installation of the lights along State Route 89A is necessary.

“It’s a long, complex issue. Basically we’re trying to give some background to the City Council as well as our members out there as to what would be involved in making this application for International Dark-Sky status,” Parks said.

Factors that play into an IDA designation, Parks said, does include streetlights and the darkness of an area.

“There’s been a lot of political in-fighting within the City Council, apparently. One side is pro-lighting, and the other side is against lighting. Both sides have been using some of IDA’s statements to their own advantage. We’re not aligned in any way with any of the political aspects of Sedona, but we want to make sure everybody realizes before they do something that it can have an impact,” Parks said.

An application for Sedona’s dark sky designation has not been submitted for approval as of yet.

“There has not been an application, and we have not in any way endorsed the lighting on the State Route 89A project,” Parks said, adding that he has not spoken directly with representatives with ADOT on the issue. He has volunteered to meet with ADOT and state representatives on the city’s behalf, however.

“I don’t know that anybody really knows the full impact of what this project could do to a relatively dark area,” Parks said.

Parks also cited a number of examples of roadway safety improvements besides the installation of continuous roadway lighting, including medians, curbs and pedestrian fences.

In light of the recent letter, members of the IDA committee, as well as city staff, plan to meet this week to discuss plans for the designation, said Sedona City Manager Tim Ernster.

“We have a conference call scheduled with Mr. Parks,” Ernster said. “We hope to get a clarification on the letter and what exactly it means. At this point, until the committee meets, the plan is to continue with our process and still submit an application, hopefully in June.”