Outdoor Lighting Regulations in California
Skykeepers

skykeepers.org founded
September 1, 1999
This page is under construction!

This page contains a list of Cities and Counties with references to specific section of ordinances relating to outdoor lighting and in some case to lighting in general.

The Evaluation columns indicate the degree to which the following four topics addressed.
(1) light pollution   (2) light trespass  (3) glare  (4) enforcement
Lower Case+No Bold = no or poor consideration     
Caps+Lower Case+
No Bold= some consideration     
Caps+Bold
= fully addressed
Outdoor Lighting Ordinances or Elements are usually rate Caps+Bold.

LP = Light Pollution is fully or well addressed  Lp =
Light Pollution is partly addressed or some consideration is given  lp = not addressed
LT = Light
Trespass is fully or well addressed  Lt = Light Trespass is partly addressed or some consideration is given   lt = not addressed
GL = Glare is fully or well addressed  Gl = Glare is partly addressed or some consideration is given   gl = not addressed
EN = Enforcement is fully or well addressed  En = Enforcement is partly addressed or some consideration is given   en = not addressed

This page is supplemented by the following new pages or links -
Related  Links,  a section of this page with links to city, county, state and planning links
General Plan Notes,  a new page dedicated to General Plans containing references to Light Pollution and Outdoor Lighting.
Environmental Impact Report Notes,
a new page dedicated to Environmental Impact Reports (EIR) and their use by Dark Sky Advocates.
U.S.A. State Laws Adopted and Proposed, a new page providing historic and new links that have been removed from the IDA page of the same name.


County Ordinances and City Links by County -

County Outdoor Lighting References  Evaluation  Referenced Document 
Alameda





County Code
Top Alameda





Albany





Berkeley





Dublin





Emeryville





Fremont





Hayward





Livermore





Newark





Oakland    Outdoor Lighting Standards adopted 02 NOV 2001,     Street Lights  



Municipal Code

Piedmont




Alpine





Top No Cities




Amador





Top Amador




Ione




Jackson




Plymouth




Sutter Creek




Butte County Code (LexisNexis)



County Code
Top Biggs




Chico




Gridley  




Gridley Chamber 
Oroville   




Municipal Code
Paradise  




Paradise Chamber 
Calaveras Review of county code sections relating to Outdoor Lighting   Lp LT gl En County Code, Code
Top Angles Camp





Colusa





Top Colusa





Williams




Contra Costa




County Code
Top
Antioch





Brentwood




Clayton




Concord




Danville   



Municipal Code
El Cerrito  



Municipal Code
Hercules




Lafayette   



Municipal Code
Martinez




Moraga




Oakley




Orinda




Pinole




Pittsburg




Pleasant Hill




Richmond




San Pablo




San Ramon





Walnut Creek



Planning & Zoning Code
Del Norte





Top Crescent City  




Municipal Code
El Dorado County Code Section 17.14.170 Outdoor Lighting Std., 19 SEP 02
Lp LT GL en County Code      
Top Placerville      Adopted, first reading 08 Jan 2002
LP
LT
GL
en

South Lake Tahoe




Fresno





County Code
Top Clovis




Coalinga




Firebaugh




Fowler




Fresno




Huron




Kerman




Kingsburg




Mendota




Orange Cove




Parlier




Reedley




Sanger




San Joaquin




Selma




Glenn





Top Orland




Willows



Chamber
Humboldt





Top Arcata




Blue Lake




Eureka




Ferndale




Fortuna




Rio Dell




Trinidad




Imperial




Ordinances
Top Brawley




Calexico




Calipatria




El Centro




Holtville




Imperial




Westmorland




Inyo





Top Bishop




Kern
General Plan, Land Use, Conservation, and Open Space Element
Local Quick Notes - Kern River Valley Specific PlanKern Co. Quick Notes




County Code
Top Arvin





Bakersfield




California City




Delano




Maricopa




Mcfarland




Ridgecrest




Shafter




Taft



Chanber
Tehachapi




Wasco




Kings





Top Avenal




Corcoran




Hanford




Lemoore  ( references in General Plan Notes )





Lemoore AFB





Lake




Lake County Code
Top Clearlake




Lakeport




Lassen
Ordinance under consideration, General Plan & Ordinance References (.pdf  68k)





Top Susanville




Los Angeles
Large number of section relating to lighting



LACounty Code
Top  Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Arcadia, Artesia, Avalon, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bell,
Bellflower, Bell Gardens





Beverly Hills  Lighting References - Sec. 5-6.1101 lp LT gl
en
Municipal Code
Bradbury, Burbank, Calabasas, Carson, Cerritos, Claremont, Commerce, Compton,
Covina, Cudahy, Culver City, Diamond Bar, Downey





Duarte   



Municipal Code
El Monte, El Segundo, Gardena, Glendale, Glendora, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne,
Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Huntington Park, Industry, Inglewood, Irwindale,
La Canada Flintridge, La Habra Heights, Lakewood, La Mirada, Lancaster,
La Puente, La Verne, Lawndale, Lomita, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Lynwood,
Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Maywood, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey Park,
Norwalk,  Palmdale, Palos Verdes Estates, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rosemead,
San Dimas,San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Clarita, Santa Fe Springs,
Santa Monica, Sierra Madre, Signal Hill, South El Monte, South Gate, South Pasadena
Temple City, Torrance, Vernon, Walnut, West Covina,
  
  
  
  
  
 
West Hollywood, Recently improved ordinance   Section 19.20.100 - Outdoor Lighting  Notes (local) 




  
Westlake Village,




  
Whittier




Madera
Madera at on time was considering a OLO - status unknown





Top Chowchilla  



Municipal Code
Madera




Marin
Should have Ordinance to protect National Monument ,
efforts underway to address Light Pollution in General Plan
Lighting Design Technical Criteria & Marin County Civic Center (.pdf)




County Code
Top Belvedere




Corte Madera




Fairfax




Larkspur




Mill Valley




Novato




Ross




San Anselmo




San Rafael




Sausalito




Tiburon




Mariposa
Ordinance under Consideration






No Cities




Mendocino




County Code
Top Fort Bragg




Point Arena




Ukiah




Willits




Merced





Top Atwater




Dos Palos




Gustine




Livingston




Los Banos




Merced




Modoc





Top Alturas




Mono




County Code
Top Mammoth Lakes  
Chapter 17.34 OUTDOOR LIGHTING , adopted 07 May 2003
Local Skykeepers copy - Chapter 17.34 OUTDOOR LIGHTING
See also General Plan Notes page for General Plan Update February 2007
LP
LT
GL
EN Review Municipal Code
Monterey




County Code
Top Carmel-By-The-Sea




Del Rey Oaks




Gonzales




Greenfield




King City




Marina




Monterey




Pacific Grove




Salinas




Sand City




SeasideGeneral Plan August 2004 Conservation/Open Space Element Page COS-21 and COS-35 (.pdf)
LP LT GL

Soledad




Napa





Top American Canyon




Calistoga




Napa




Saint Helena




Yountville




Nevada Nevada County General Plan and Zoning Ordinance  (skykeeper copy)
General Plan  adopted 1996
Zoning Ordinance  Chapter 2 of the Land Use and Development Code. (.pdf 2MB)
Page 166 Sec. L-II 4.2.8 Lighting

Additional Lighting Refferences in Zoning Regulations notes (skykeeper copy)

LP LP
G L
en Zoning Regulations
Top Grass Valley




Nevada City



Chanber
Truckee  Title 18 - Development Code (notes)        Review of Truckee Codes in Work




Truckee General Plan Update
Town of Truckee
Orange
Zoning Ord.  Co. & Cities Presently Under Review  8 FEB 02          Zoning Ordinance
Top Aliso Viejo





Anaheim




Brea




Buena Park




Costa Mesa




Cypress




Dana Point



Municipal Code
Fountain Valley



Municipal Code
Fullerton




Garden Grove




Huntington Beach




Irvine




Laguna Beach  (PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT 4/20/05, General Plan Actions "Form of a City-Appointed Environment Committee to advise the city on general environmental Concerns, such as water, air, noise and light pollution, view protection and open space.
Zoning Code
25.28.030 Property development standards.
(J) Exterior Lighting (public utility lighting is exempt from these standards).
(1) Lighting fixtures shall be limited to a maximum height of twelve feet. All exterior lighting (except for security lighting) shall not be illuminated when facilities are closed.
(2) All lighting shall be designed and located so as to confine direct rays to premises.
21.16.400 Ornamental street lighting system.
There shall be an ornamental street lighting system, including standards and fixtures, in accordance with the quality and degree of illumination acceptable to the city. ...
25.35.080 Design review development standards.
10) All exterior lighting should relate to the design of the structure, and the light emitted shall not adversely affect neighboring properties, exceed that reasonably necessary for security purposes, nor detract from the aesthetics of the property.
25.19.010 and 25.21.008 and 25.25.010 - Performance standards. (others)
(E)(G) Commercial signage shall be designed so as not to interfere with residential areas. This shall involve the lighting, location, orientation and size of signs. (Ord. 1150 § 1 (part), 1988).




Municipal Code
Laguna Hills   



Municipal Code
Laguna Niguel




Laguna Woods




La Habra   



Municipal Code
Lake Forest    



Municipal Code
La Palma   



Municipal Code
Los Alamitos     Lighting References in Municipal Code lp lt gl en Review Municipal Code
Mission Viejo





Newport Beach