Williams was not involved during the most recent joint land use discussions and has not been fully briefed on the county's dark sky goal. The city will meet with the county later this month to brief them on the specifics fn the dark sky goal.

The observatory's plans to build on the location are still in the early stages, Shankland said, but he did mention that people at the observatory are keeping an eye on actions in the county and cities actions to determine the viability of the space.

Coconino County Supervisor Matt Ryan felt that embracing the astronomy community was only a good thing, both for amateur and professional astronomers alike.

"It’s an economic driver," Ryan said. "From the early days through the moon missions into now and what they’re doing."

The spectrum problem

LEDs have made a big impact on dark skies, according to Christian Luginbuhl, a member of the Flagstaff Dark Sky Coalition. Many LEDs utilize white light, which is a combination of all colors on the visible spectrum.

Where that causes a problem, Luginbuhl said, is that blue and green light have a higher impact on dark skies than yellow or red lights do.