Street Lighting

Legal References

Statutes

• Ch. 35.43 RCW – Local Improvement Districts
• RCW 35.72.020 – Authorizes street lighting as part of what street latecomer agreements may reimburse
• RCW 36.88.015 – County Road Improvement Districts - Additional purposes - construction, installation, improvement, operation, and maintenance of street and road lighting systems for any county roads
• RCW 54.16.120 – Local utility districts authorized for providing street lighting
• Water-Sewer Districts
  • RCW 57.08.060 – Water-Sewer Districts - Powers as to street lighting systems -- Establishment
  • RCW 57.16.010 – General comprehensive plan of improvements (4) For a general comprehensive plan for street lighting, the commissioners shall investigate all portions and sections of the district and adopt a general comprehensive plan for street lighting for the district suitable and adequate for present and future needs
• RCW 82.80.040 – Street Utility - The provision may include street lighting; however in Covell v. Seattle, 127 Wn.2d 874 (1995) the street utility street utility charge was declared unconstitutional. Seattle adopted a street utility ordinance, but the court held that the street utility charges constitute a property tax, and that they violate article 7, section 1 of the state constitution, because the tax is not uniform.
• RCW 87.03.016 – Irrigation Districts - District may provide street lighting — Limitations

Selected Court Decisions

• Okeson v. City of Seattle, 150 Wn.2d 540 (2003) – [Street Light Utility] – The question of whether a city has authority to incorporate the expenses of city streetlights within the electrical rates charged to customers of the city's electrical utility depends upon (1) whether providing streetlights is a governmental or a proprietary function of the local government; and, (2) whether the costs imposed upon utility customers are a tax or a fee. In this case the court determined that maintenance of a street lighting system is a governmental function and the street lighting charges imposed on utility ratepayers was not lawfully imposed in accordance with express statutory or constitutional authority. Maintenance of a street lighting system is a governmental function and shifting streetlight costs to ratepayers is designed to raise revenue for the general city budget. Because there is no relationship between electricity used by utility customers and energy used by streetlights, these charges are a tax not a fee.

Attorney General Opinions

• AGO 2001 No. 1 – Cities and towns lack the authority to operate their street lighting as a utility or to impose a charge on the city's utility customers for the cost of furnishing street lighting, 01/17/2001

Sample Design Standards

• Bremerton Public Works and Utilities Engineering Standards, Division Seven, Street Lighting (updated 2015)
• Ellensburg Development Standards, Section 8, Illumination Standards and Illumination Details (updated 2015)
• Kennewick
  • Standard Specifications and Details, Standard Specifications for Street Light Construction, (revised 2018, see Section 6)
  • Planning and Land Use/Design Standards, Single Family Residential Design Standards - Residential Street Lights (2004, see page 5)
• Mill Creek Design and Construction Standard Plans (2016) – See LGT-1 through LGT-14
• Seattle Right-of-Way Improvements Manual, Ch. 4, Design Criteria – Section 4.16 Street Lighting

Ordinance and Policy Provisions

• Bonney Lake
  • Street Lighting Improvements and Standards (2006) – Description of how the city improved its street lighting system, including municipal code updates, priority rankings, new design standards, an annual CIP budget item, and identification of “low-hanging fruit” to meet the new codes
  • Bonney Lake Municipal Code Ch. 12.28 – Street Lighting
• SeaTac Municipal Code Title 17 – Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design - See various provisions related to street lighting
• Pierce County Resolution No. R2006-138s – Policy on street illumination; makes modifications to Title 17B and the Manual on Design Guidelines and Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction
• Wenatchee Street Illumination Policy (2006)

Rates

• Benton PUD Customer Service Rates and Policies (2022) – see Schedule 51 (street lighting) and Schedule 61 (security lighting)
• Cowlitz County PUD Rates, Fees, and Policies – see Schedule 40 (public street lighting) and Schedule 10 (private street and area lighting)
• Franklin PUD Street Lighting and Security Lighting
• Grant County PUD No. 2 Rates and Fees
• Lewis County PUD No. 1 Customer Information and Electric Rate Schedules (2022) – see Schedule 5 (security lighting service) and Schedule 50 (street lighting service)
• Seattle City Light Schedule T Contract Street and Area Lighting Rates -- Streetlights
• Tacoma Power Rates Schedule H-1 Street Lighting and Traffic Signal Service and Schedule H-2 Private Off Street Lighting Service

Recommended Resources

• Lighting Research Center: Implementation of Decision-Making Tools that Address Light Pollution for Localities Planning Street Lighting (2003)
• Illumination Engineering Society and International Dark Sky Association: Model Lighting Ordinance (2011)
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Lighting Research Center: Transportation Lighting and Safety