Outdoor Lighting in Memphis, TN

If you live in Memphis or are thinking about moving there, outdoor lighting are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Memphis has 3 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of outdoor lighting, and some of them might surprise you.

Dark Sky Rules

Commercial, multi-family and mixed-use sites across Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County must curtail light pollution and skyglow under the joint Unified Development Code's outdoor lighting chapter. Parking lot luminaires can emit zero light above 90 degrees, and every fixture carries an Uplight rating capped by its Lighting Zone. Single-family and two-family home lighting is not covered.

Key details: Uplight cap: 0% light emission above 90 degrees, all zones. Exempt: single- and two-family residential lighting. Governing rule: UDC § 4.7.3.A.1.c, BUG Tables C-1 to C-3. Enforced by: Zoning Administrator via lighting plan review. Nonconforming reset: 30-month abandonment triggers full compliance.

The Zoning Administrator reviews the required lighting plan and photometric calculations at permit application; fixtures that exceed the Table C Backlight, Uplight or Glare ratings or the site lumen cap are grounds to withhold permit or certificate of occupancy approval. Owners of nonconforming lighting that sits unused for 30 months or more must bring every fixture into full Chapter 4.7 compliance before resuming use. Deviations require a special use permit with a signed mitigation statement and curfew condition.

Light Trespass & Shielding

Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County require non-residential and multi-family site lighting to stay off neighboring land under the joint Unified Development Code. The Backlight rating in Table C-1 tightens the closer a fixture sits to a property line, and glare ratings do the same, so spillover onto an adjacent lot is capped by distance and orientation rather than left to the installer's judgment.

Key details: Governing rule: UDC §§ 4.7.1, 4.7.3.A.1.b, Table C-1. Backlight cap near line: B0 rating inside 0.5 mounting heights of line. Property line adjustment: +5 feet where line abuts a public walkway/plaza. Exempt: single- and two-family residential lighting. Applies to: Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County jointly.

A lighting plan with fixture cut sheets goes to the Zoning Administrator before permit issuance; a design that fails the Table C-1 Backlight or Table C-3 Glare rating for its distance from a property line is grounds for plan rejection. Owners cannot install adjustable-aim luminaires to work around the rating. Nonconforming fixtures on a site abandoned 30 months or more must be brought into full compliance before the property is used again.

Billboard Lighting

Digital billboards and electronic message boards in Memphis must run ambient light monitors that automatically dim the display at night and in cloudy weather. The Unified Development Code caps any brightness increase at 0.3 foot candles over ambient light, measured at set distances tied to sign size, or lets an owner instead prove the sign stays under 7,500 nits by day and 300 nits at night.

Key details: Governing section: UDC § 4.9.6.E(2)(d). Brightness cap: 0.3 foot candles over ambient. Alternate standard: 7,500 nits day / 300 nits night. Required hardware: Automatic ambient light monitor. Malfunction repair window: 48 hours to fix or disconnect.

Running a digital billboard without functioning ambient light monitors, exceeding the 0.3 foot-candle or 7,500/300-nit brightness ceilings, or leaving a malfunctioning video sign lit past the 48-hour repair window violates UDC § 4.9.6.E and is enforceable under § 4.9.11: a stop-work order, an injunction compelling correction, and penalties under the joint zoning ordinance, with each additional day of noncompliance a separate violation.

The Bottom Line

Memphis'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 Memphis is broadly strict or permissive.

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