Outdoor Lighting Rules, Regulations, and Ordinances

City Ordinances

Below are links to the outdoor lighting ordinances of some nearby cities in the Hill Country. They all differ from each other in one aspect or another and some are pretty detailed.

But it doesn't have to be complicated. Controlling light pollution isn't rocket science. It's mostly just common sense.

A friend, who was in charge of planning a new parking lot for a church in Blanco, asked us “What kind of lights do I need to buy to be in compliance with the new ordinance?” The answer was simple, and he didn't even have to read the ordinance to “get it.” We told him that he could install any kind of outdoor lighting he wanted to as long as it (1) had a color of 3,000 Kelvin or preferably less and (2) did not shine off the property. That's really all there is to it!

KELVIN TEMPERATURE. There are all kinds of reasons to have low-Kelvin-temperature lighting, the kind that has a warm, orangish glow instead of that piercing bluish light that causes glare, inhibits the body's production of melatonin, and contributes to diabetes, cancer, and other maladies. There's detailed information on this website about all that.

LIGHT TRESSPASS. Keeping one's light on one's own property is just common courtesy. If the light doesn't shine off the property, it's not going to irritate a neighbor and it's not going to shine above the horizontal plane to pollute the night sky. It's just common sense.

Links to the ordinances for cities in Blanco and nearby counties are shown below.

        Johnson City
        Blanco
        Fredericksburg
        Wimberley
        Dripping Springs

Blanco County

Night Sky Resolution

Resolution Supporting Efforts to Preserve Night Skies

Subdivision Regulations

“Dark Sky Outdoor Lighting” and “Dark Sky Wording for HOA and/or Deed Restrictions” are found in Appendix Q of these regulations:

Blanco County Subdivision Regulations

State of Texas

In 1999, the Texas State Legislature passed a law regulating “certain outdoor lighting.” The law is the Texas Health and Safety Code, Title 5, Sanitation and Environmental Quality, Subtitle F, Light Pollution, Chapter 425, Regulation of Certain Outdoor Lighting. It has been in force since September 1, 1999.

The most important part of the law states that "An outdoor lighting fixture may be installed, replaced, maintained, or operated using state funds only if: ... the new or replacement outdoor lighting fixture is a cutoff luminaire if the rated output of the outdoor lighting fixture is greater than 1800 lumens...” 1800 lumens is roughly the amount of light produced by an incandescent light bulb between 100 and 150 watts. The law defines a “cutoff luminaire,“ “light pollution,” “outdoor lighting fixtures,” and “state funds.” It gives certain, limited exceptions to the law.

BOTTOM LINE: By law, any lighting fixture in Texas that is paid for in whole or in part by or is operated with State funds and produces more than 1800 lumens must be a full cut-off fixture.

Regulation of Certain Outdoor Lighting

Federal Laws and Regulations

Federal regulation 16 CFR 305.23 requires all lighting products to have “Lighting Facts” printed on the packaging. The details of that regulation are provided below. Here are examples of Lighting Facts.

Labeling for lighting products