Breckenridge Town Council expresses support for exterior lighting code changes

The town’s exterior lighting code, which regulates decorative lighting, will be updated by the Breckenridge Town Council. The Council agreed on some conceptual changes at its meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 28, but the official ordinance will take more time to finalize.

The new code will allow colored LED lights and larger bulbs, and it will also set date and time limits for lighting. The code will not take effect until 2025.

The current code, which was approved in 2010, only allows warm- or soft-white decorative LED lighting. Julia Puester, the assistant community development director of Breckenridge, presented the proposed changes to the Council.

The Council also decided to change the permitted period for exterior decorative lighting from Nov. 1 until the end of ski season to Nov. 1 to April 1. Additionally, the Council approved a lighting curfew of 2 a.m. for Zone 1, which covers the downtown commercial core area of Breckenridge, and 11 p.m. for zones 2 and 3, which are residential areas outside of the town core.