Storefronts along Beacon Street, Harvard Street, and other Brookline commercial corridors could face new outdoor lighting standards under a proposed bylaw that a town committee plans to bring to Fall Town Meeting.

The draft bylaw would regulate outdoor lighting on private commercial and residential properties, going further than a state dark skies bill that the Massachusetts Senate passed 39-0 in early July 2026. While the state measure covers only publicly funded lighting, Brookline's proposal would apply to businesses, too.

"The moderator's committee is looking at all outdoor lighting throughout town, as opposed to just where government money is being spent, which is what the state is looking to regulate," said David Pollak, chair of the Brookline moderator's committee drafting the bylaw.

The Brookline draft would generally cap most white outdoor lighting at 2,700 Kelvin, a warmer tone than the state bill's proposed 3,000-Kelvin limit, and set standards for shielding and lighting curfews, according to Brookline.News.

The state bill, S.3145, would require most roadway, parking lot, and government building lights to be fully shielded and directed downward. It exempts athletic fields, emergency work, aviation, and holiday lighting.

Pollak called the Senate bill "pretty modest in its aspiration," saying it establishes broad principles while leaving technical details to state regulators.

Last year's Town Meeting voted to refer Article 8, a citizen petition on outdoor lighting, for further study. That referral created the moderator's committee Pollak now chairs.

At the state level, advocates with DarkSky Massachusetts have pushed similar legislation since 1992. Kelly Beatty, an amateur astronomer who has led that effort for more than three decades, said previous versions routinely won favorable committee reports before stalling in Ways and Means.

The Senate's unanimous vote marked the furthest a statewide dark skies proposal has ever advanced. State Sen. Cindy Creem, whose district includes Brookline and who sponsors S.3145, said the bill aims to restore visibility of the night sky.

"I can see the Big Dipper in New Hampshire," Creem said. "I can't see the Big Dipper here."

The House passed a different version of dark skies provisions as part of a broader environmental bond bill. Lawmakers must reconcile the two versions in conference committee before sending a final bill to Gov. Maura Healey. The formal legislative session ends July 31, but conference committees can continue meeting through the end of 2026.

In Brookline, the committee expects to present its recommendations at Fall Town Meeting. No date for that meeting has been posted on the town's official website. A draft of the proposed bylaw is available on the Brookline CivicClerk portal.