Outdoor Lighting in Dothan, AL (2026)
3 verified outdoor lighting rules for Dothan, Alabama, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Dark Sky Rules
Inside the City of Dothan's U.S. Highway 84 East Overlay District, outdoor lighting must reduce glare with appropriate shielding, use warm yellow-toned light rather than bright white, and scale fixtures to the surrounding context. Lighting that blinks or oscillates is outright prohibited under City Code § 114-164(m), the overlay's lighting standards for the downtown core, downtown edge and mixed-use subdistricts.
Dothan Highway 84 Overlay Lighting Rules
Light RestrictionsDothan City Code § 114-164(m)(2)-(6)
(2)A hierarchy of lighting types is encouraged to assist drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.(3)Lighting shall be scaled to the context of the area.(4)Reduce glare by utilizing appropriate shielding.(5)Light temperature shall be warm (in yellow tones) rather than bright whites.(6)Lighting that blinks or oscillates is prohibited.
Light Trespass & Shielding
In the City of Dothan, off-street parking lot lighting must be arranged so it does not unreasonably disturb occupants of the site or of adjacent residential properties or interfere with traffic, City Code § 114-182(e)(1)c. The planning and development department reviews lighting layout during development plan approval, and no certificate of occupancy issues until the parking and lighting facilities meet this standard.
Dothan Parking Lot Lighting Glare Rule
Some RestrictionsDothan City Code § 114-182(e)(1)c
(e)Construction and maintenance.(1)Off-street parking facilities shall be constructed, maintained and operated in accordance with the following specifications: ... c.Lighting facilities shall be arranged so that they do not unreasonably disturb occupants of the site or of adjacent residential properties or interfere with traffic.
Billboard Lighting
In the City of Dothan, digital billboards and electronic message center (EMC) signs must run automatic dimming technology so nighttime brightness never exceeds three-tenths of a footcandle above ambient light, City Code § 114-222(c)(1). Operators may instead cap output at 5,000 nits by day and 500 nits between sunset and sunrise. The planning and development department enforces these limits on every digital display sign citywide.
Dothan Digital Billboard Brightness Standards
Some RestrictionsDothan City Code § 114-222(c)(1)-(2)
(c)Brightness of the display shall be controlled automatically to reduce light levels at night or under cloudy or other darkened conditions and shall not be brighter than is necessary for clear and adequate visibility, or that might impair the vision of a driver, or interferes with traffic control. ... (1)All digital billboards and/or EMC signs shall have automatic dimming technology to adjust ...