How Revere Handles Outdoor Lighting: A Practical Guide

Revere maintains 121 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 Revere falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Light Trespass & Shielding

Revere's zoning code requires every fast-food, take-out and drive-in restaurant to shield its lighting fixtures from streets and adjoining properties. The rule sits inside Section 17.16.190, the citywide use standard for these restaurants, and works alongside mandatory landscape screening so a drive-through's site lighting does not spill glare onto neighboring homes and businesses.

Key details: Governing section: Revere Municipal Code § 17.16.190(F). Applies to: Fast-food, take-out, drive-in restaurants. Rule: Lights shielded from streets, adjoining properties. Paired duty: Landscape architect screening plan (§ E). By-right district: Highway Business (HB) district only.

The building inspector administers Title 17 and, per Section 17.60.040, must withhold any permit or certificate for a use that would violate the title, or revoke one already issued under Section 17.60.050 once a violation is found. Section 17.60.090 sets the penalty for violating any provision of the zoning title, including the lighting-shielding duty, at up to three hundred dollars per day per violation, payable to the city, with written notice of the violation and remedy required within fourteen days.

Billboard Lighting

Revere requires every digital sign, including a digital billboard approved by special permit, to go dark overnight. Section 17.36.035 bars illumination between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise, a curfew layered on top of the district and distance limits that already restrict where a digital sign can exist at all.

Key details: Illumination curfew: No illumination 11:00 p.m. to sunrise. Adopted: C.O. 18-075, May 7, 2018. Applies to: Every digital sign and converted digital billboard. Enforcing official: Revere building inspector. Annual billboard inspection: Licensed engineer report to building inspector (§17.36.130).

An illuminated digital sign or digital billboard after 11:00 p.m. is a Title 17 violation, punishable under the general penalty in Section 1.16.010: up to $300 for each offense, with each night the curfew is violated chargeable as a separate offense. The building inspector may also condition, suspend or revoke the special permit that allowed the sign.

Dark Sky Rules

Revere has no single citywide dark-sky ordinance, but its zoning code requires lighting for loading docks to be aimed away from homes and streets, and repeats similar shielding rules use by use, for drive-in restaurants, illuminated signs, wind turbines and telecom towers, rather than one general lighting standard.

Key details: Loading-area rule: Lights must reflect away from homes, streets. Sign curfew: No illumination past 11 p.m. near homes. Telecom/wind lighting: Banned unless FAA or FCC requires it. No citywide standard: No general footcandle or curfew rule.

Loading-area lighting that spills onto adjoining homes or streets violates Revere Municipal Code § 17.28.170 and is enforceable as a zoning violation under Section 17.04.030, voiding the certificate of occupancy for the property until the fixtures are re-aimed or shielded; the building inspector and the site plan review committee can also condition or revoke site plan approval for a commercial project whose lighting was represented differently during review.

The rules around dark sky rules in Revere lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

The Bottom Line

Revere'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 Revere is broadly strict or permissive.

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