Modernizing Outdoor Lighting Regulations
Zoning Practice — February 2025
By Kaitlin McBride
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No matter how small the section, any code update can be a significant investment of time and effort on the part of local staff, consultants, and community stakeholders. Updates to zoning codes are even more difficult to take on when it's a topic unfamiliar to many planners, like how best to regulate outdoor lighting.
Ideally, recommendations for outdoor lighting best practices should address much more than pole heights and luminaire (or light fixture) styles. Still, most national lighting standards are written for and by lighting professionals. Quality outdoor lighting is both an art and a science, and the science of what light levels are safe for a bustling city, a quiet town, and the environment at the same time is often unintuitive. So, where's the best place for a planner to start? And why is it an effort worth taking on?
This issue of Zoning Practice explores how lighting zoning and other regulatory strategies can help planners and local officials modernize their outdoor lighting regulations. It begins by summarizing common problems with existing exterior lighting regulations before examining the concept of lighting zoning, providing implementation guidance, and highlighting alternative approaches to meeting outdoor lighting objectives.
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About the Author
Kaitlin McBride
<p>Kate McBride currently works where lighting design and outdoor lighting policies overlap. With Clanton & Associates, Kate contributes to the development of local and national lighting policies, lighting designs for public spaces, and coordinates efforts for community outreach about lighting. Her recent lighting work includes cities such as Aspen, CO, Albany, CA, Salt Lake City, UT, and Santa Ana, CA.</p><p>Kate is Community Friendly Lighting Certificated (CFLC), a LEED Green Associate, and a member of DarkSky International. She was previously a speaker at the 2021 APA Texas Chapter conference for a session on what planners need to know most about outdoor lighting. She is passionate about the intersection of light pollution, urban planning, and public health.</p>