How Chattanooga Handles Outdoor Lighting: A Practical Guide

Chattanooga maintains 131 local ordinances across all categories, and 3 of those deal specifically with outdoor lighting. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Chattanooga falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Billboard Lighting

Chattanooga requires off-premise billboard lighting to use shielded, directional luminaries capped at two watts per square foot so glare doesn't spill onto neighboring properties.

Key details: Max luminaries: 2 per sign face. Wattage cap: 2 watts per square foot. Fixtures must be: aimed and shielded. Goal: prevent light trespass off-site.

Unshielded or overwattage billboard lighting is a misdemeanor under Sec. 3-12, $25 to $50 per day until corrected or the sign is abated.

Dark Sky Rules

Chattanooga's Exterior Lighting Controls cap outdoor light spilling onto neighboring lots. Sec. 38-47(b) sets a maximum of one footcandle at any lot line, requires every luminaire to be a full cutoff design, and limits freestanding fixtures to 20 feet in nonresidential zones and 15 feet in residential zones.

Key details: Lot-line limit: 1.0 footcandle maximum. Fixture design: Full cutoff luminaire required. Max pole height: 15 ft residential, 20 ft nonresidential. Color temperature: 3200K or below, plan-required uses. Recreation field height: Up to 65 ft, off 1 hr post-event.

A fixture that exceeds one footcandle at the lot line, is not full cutoff, or is taller than the 15-foot residential or 20-foot nonresidential maximum violates Sec. 38-47(b) and can be flagged during the Land Development Office's lighting-plan review or after a neighbor complaint. Prohibited lighting under Sec. 38-47(d), such as flashing lights, searchlights or unauthorized neon outlining, is subject to the same code-enforcement process as any other zoning violation.

Light Trespass & Shielding

Security lighting in Chattanooga must meet the one-footcandle, full-cutoff standard unless it runs on a motion vacancy sensor that shuts off within 15 minutes.

Key details: Default rule: 1 fc max, full-cutoff design. Sensor exception: must extinguish within 15 min. Applies to: motion-activated security fixtures.

Non-exempt fixtures exceeding the footcandle cap or lacking full-cutoff shielding can be ordered corrected by Code Enforcement.

The Bottom Line

Chattanooga's outdoor lighting rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Chattanooga is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Chattanooga's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.