Outdoor Lighting in Charlottesville, VA (2026)
2 verified outdoor lighting rules for Charlottesville, Virginia, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Dark Sky Rules
Charlottesville requires fully-shielded light fixtures citywide except for very low-output lamps, and bans searchlights, lasers and sky-facing beams outright, under the Development Code's dark-sky-style outdoor lighting standards.
Charlottesville Outdoor Lighting Shielding Rules
Some RestrictionsCharlottesville Development Code § 4.12.3.C.4
4. All light fixtures must use fully-shielded luminaires, except ... a. Non-cutoff (unshielded) fixtures may be used when the maximum initial lumens generated by each fixture are less than 1,600 lumens.
Light Trespass & Shielding
Charlottesville limits outdoor lighting to 0.5 footcandles at the property line so it does not spill onto neighboring land, sidewalks or rights-of-way, under the Development Code's outdoor lighting design standards.
Charlottesville Light Trespass Onto Neighbors
Some RestrictionsCharlottesville Development Code § 4.12.3.B.3
Lighting must not trespass onto adjacent properties and sidewalks not within the proposed development, or rights-of-way and the footcandles at the property line must be no more than 0.5.