KENT, Conn.—The balance of safety, esthetics and environment came into play recently as the Architectural Review Board looked at an application from St. Andrews Church to install lighting to illuminate the serpentine walkway from the sidewalk to the parish house.
Architect Wes Wyrick brought the proposal to the board, saying the church would like to put uplighting around a tree located about 100 feet from the sidewalk to provide subtle lighting along the walkway. He said it would be modeled on a similar tree located in Kent Barns.
ARB member Joanne Wasti noted that awareness of the environmental effects of nighttime lighting has become a matter of increasing concern in recent years. Environmentalists studying the impact on wildlife have concluded that it disrupts nighttime migration of birds, causing them to become disoriented and leading to the death of millions of birds each year. Lighting also affects bats, delaying foraging and fragmenting habitats.
Even mammals are affected by artificial lighting, as it disrupts their circadian rhythms, altering their sleep-wake cycles, alters foraging and reproductive behaviors, and fragments wildlife habitats.
“So much of what we are asking for lighting is down lighting and low wattage,” Wasti said. “The problem with disrupting the tree is that it disrupts all the critters living there. All kinds of animals and wildlife use that tree.”
Wyrick again referred to the example of the Kent Barns tree. “If you see the tree in Kent Barns, it is subtle,” he said. “It is not glaring at all. As for the squirrels, I don’t know.”
Wasti said approval would be precedent setting. “If we approve uplighting in one place, we would have to approve it elsewhere. Lighting is something we have to be careful about and think about where we are lighting and why.”
Board member Victor Lewis confessed to loving outdoor lighting but said he had activist friends “who have caused me to read and study and do investigation which causes me to think there is some truth to what they are saying.”
“We want to respect and maintain our rural environment,” he said. “Keeping down lighting is a good thing.”
Member Jessica Pleasants said it would be beautiful focal point for the church and would enhance the esthetics of the town but wondered if the lighting would be adequate for the walkway.
“Esthetically it’s great to have lighting and Kent Barns is well done,” she said. “From a vibe perspective, it adds to the esthetic nature of the town, but I’m not sure the application supports the intent.”
Additionally, she cautioned that the “temperature” of the light on the Kelvin Scale would be an important consideration. The Kelvin Scale runs from low numbers to high numbers, with lower values creating a warm glow and higher values producing a cool, daylight-like appearance. Readings from 2,000k to 3,000k produce soft, golden tones, while those from 3,100 to 4,500k produce white light.
“Under 3,500k is best because it is a natural, warm light,” Lewis said.
Wyrick said the lights used would be 2,700k and that they could be put on a timer so they turn off seasonally two hours after nightfall. He said he considered uplighting the tree a better solution for illuminating the path than ground lights along its edges.
The commission approved the application with Wasti and Lewis dissenting. The level of lighting was limited to 2,700k and they must be turned off by 9 p.m. each night.
