Bring back Sedona's Night

Every four seconds, a high-intensity LED beacon at Sedona Airport flashes across Thunder Mountain and into the homes of residents below. We are not asking to compromise pilot safety. We are asking to shield the light.

Sign the Petition
The Problem

A light that doesn't belong in our windows.

Sedona was the world's eighth International Dark Sky Community, a designation earned in 2014 after years of careful work by residents, the City, and Keep Sedona Beautiful. We protect our night sky because it is one of the most extraordinary natural resources we have.

Beginning around mid-December, residents whose homes back up to Thunder Mountain began noticing a powerful flash of light, approximately every four seconds, throughout the night. The source is the rotating beacon at Sedona Airport (KSEZ), which appears to have been upgraded to a high-intensity LED.

The flash is bright enough to illuminate portions of the red rock formation behind our homes and to wake neighbors through closed bedroom curtains. This is not safety lighting reaching its intended target. This is light trespass.

4sec
Interval

The airport's white-green beacon rotates and flashes into surrounding neighborhoods, mountainsides, and bedrooms roughly every four seconds. All night. Every night.

What You Should Know

The FAA does not require this beacon.

KSEZ is a general aviation airport. It is not a Part 139 certificated commercial-service airport, which means the federal beacon requirement in 14 CFR §139.311(c) does not apply. Sedona Airport could legally modify, shield, redirect, dim, or replace the beacon tomorrow without violating FAA regulation.

2014

Sedona became the world's 8th International Dark Sky Community. The designation is reviewed and can be revoked.

§139

FAA Part 139 beacon requirement does not apply to KSEZ. The beacon is operational, not regulatory.

1956

The original Sedona beacon was a low-power rotating light. Today's appears to be a high-intensity LED.

4s

Approximate flash interval into surrounding homes. 21,600 flashes across a single night.

What We're Asking For

Five reasonable, safety-compatible requests.

1

Shield the beacon.

Install a directional shield so the light is visible to incoming aircraft but does not project laterally into residential areas and onto Thunder Mountain.

2

Adjust the angle.

Tilt the beacon upward toward the airspace it is meant to serve, not horizontally into the bedrooms of nearby homes.

3

Reduce intensity if it was recently upgraded.

If the beacon was switched to a brighter LED, evaluate whether the previous lower-intensity fixture met aviation needs without the current light spill.

4

Open a public review.

Place the beacon on a SOCAA board meeting agenda for transparent community input, with technical input from FAA and ADOT Aeronautics.

5

Honor Sedona's dark-sky commitment.

The airport sits on county land and is not bound by the City's lighting ordinance — but Sedona's dark-sky identity is a shared community trust. The airport can choose to honor it voluntarily.

Add Your Name

Sign the petition.

Your signature tells SOCAA, Yavapai County, and the City of Sedona that this matters to residents, voters, and visitors. The form takes under a minute.

Sign on Change.org

No fees. No spam. Names only shared with decision-makers.

Beyond The Petition

Write the people who can actually fix this.

A petition is a powerful collective voice. An individual letter from a constituent is a different kind of pressure. Send both. Below is who decides, in order of authority.

SOCAA Board of Directors

Primary decision-maker

The Sedona-Oak Creek Airport Authority sets airport policy.

info@SedonaAirport.org
(928) 282-4487

Cameron Atkins

Deputy General Manager

Often more responsive than the GM's office.

cameron@sedonaairport.org
(928) 282-4487

Nikki Check

Yavapai County Supervisor, Dist. 3

The county owns Airport Mesa and holds SOCAA's lease.

district3@yavapaiaz.gov
(928) 639-8110

Sedona City Council

Interim Mayor Holli Ploog + 6 councilors

A council resolution carries political weight.

Contact all councilors
(928) 282-3113

Keep Sedona Beautiful

Dark Sky Committee

KSB led Sedona's original dark-sky designation effort.

info@keepsedonabeautiful.org
(928) 282-4938

DarkSky International

Certifying body

Holders of Sedona's dark-sky certification.

darksky.org/about/contact
(520) 293-3198

ADOT Aeronautics

State aviation authority

Michael Klein, Aeronautics Group Manager.

azdot.gov/contact-us
(602) 712-7647

Sedona City Clerk

Public-comment scheduling

JoAnne Cook — get on the next council agenda.

jcook@sedonaaz.gov
(928) 282-3113

Sample Letters

Don't know what to say? Use one of these.

Copy any letter below, add your name and address, and email it to the officials listed in the section above. Three angles — choose whichever feels most like you. Personal details make any of them stronger, but they work as-is.

Letter 1 — The Neighbor

A personal account of light trespass

Subject: Light trespass from the KSEZ airport beacon

Dear Members of the SOCAA Board,

I'm a Sedona resident writing to share a concern that has affected my family's quality of life since mid-December. My home has a direct view of Thunder Mountain, and beginning around that time I began noticing a powerful flash of light approximately every four seconds throughout the night. After several nights of observation, I traced the source to the Sedona Airport's rotating beacon.

The flash is bright enough to illuminate portions of the rock formation behind my home and to wake me through closed bedroom curtains. I am not the only neighbor experiencing this — I know of others on nearby streets reporting the same thing.

I fully support aviation safety and the airport's mission. I am simply asking whether the beacon could be shielded, tilted, dimmed, or otherwise adjusted so that the light still serves pilots without spilling into our windows. Sedona is an International Dark Sky Community, and this issue affects both that designation and the daily lives of residents.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this at a public board meeting and to hear what options the Authority is willing to evaluate.

Thank you for your time and your service to our community.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Your phone or email]

Letter 2 — The Citizen

A policy-focused appeal to elected officials

Subject: Request for review of the Sedona Airport beacon

Dear [Supervisor Check / Mayor / Councilors],

I'm writing as a constituent to ask for your help addressing a community concern at the Sedona Airport (KSEZ). The airport's rotating beacon flashes into surrounding neighborhoods and across protected red rock formations every four seconds, all night, and appears significantly brighter than in previous years, likely due to an LED upgrade.

Importantly, KSEZ is not a Part 139 certificated airport, which means the FAA beacon requirement in 14 CFR §139.311(c) does not apply. This beacon is operational, not federally mandated. That means it can lawfully be shielded, redirected, or replaced with a compliant lower-impact fixture without compromising aviation safety.

Sedona earned its International Dark Sky Community designation through decades of careful work, and the designation can be reviewed. An unshielded high-intensity beacon visible across the community runs directly counter to the values that designation represents.

I respectfully ask that you advocate for a formal review of the beacon by SOCAA, ADOT Aeronautics, and any other relevant authority. The goal is straightforward: preserve pilot safety while ending unnecessary light trespass into residential areas.

Thank you for representing us and for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully,
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Your phone or email]

Letter 3 — The Steward

An appeal to DarkSky International

Subject: Light trespass concern at IDA Community #8 — Sedona, Arizona

To DarkSky International,

I'm writing as a resident of Sedona, Arizona — the world's eighth International Dark Sky Community, designated in 2014 — to bring a significant new light pollution concern to your attention.

The rotating beacon at Sedona Airport (KSEZ) appears to have been upgraded to a high-intensity LED. From multiple residential vantage points, the beacon flashes visibly into homes and onto adjacent red rock formations approximately every four seconds throughout the night. The light is significantly brighter than the historical low-power beacon that has existed on the airport since 1956.

KSEZ is a general aviation airport, not a Part 139 certificated facility, so the beacon is not federally required. It could be shielded, tilted, dimmed, or replaced with a compliant lower-impact fixture without compromising aviation safety.

Because this single fixture may now be the most significant unshielded light source within Sedona's certified Dark Sky Community boundary, I'm asking whether DarkSky International would consider engaging directly with the Sedona-Oak Creek Airport Authority and the City of Sedona on appropriate mitigation. Your institutional voice carries weight that residents alone cannot provide.

A community-led petition is currently gathering signatures, and we would welcome any guidance or formal correspondence DarkSky International is willing to offer.

Thank you for the work you do worldwide, and for the standards that make designations like Sedona's possible.

With appreciation,
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Your phone or email]