Outdoor Lighting in Elgin, IL (2026)
3 verified outdoor lighting rules for Elgin, Illinois, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Dark Sky Rules
Elgin requires any outdoor luminaire rated above 1,800 lumens, and any spot or flood luminaire rated above 900 lumens, to emit no direct light above a horizontal plane through its lowest light-emitting part. Those same fixtures must be mounted 25 feet high or lower when they sit within 50 feet of a residential property line or public street right-of-way line.
Elgin Outdoor Lighting Glare Control and Shielding Rules
Some RestrictionsElgin Municipal Code § 19.13.125
Any luminaire [SR] with a lamp [SR] or lamps rated at a total of more than one thousand eight hundred (1,800) lumens [SR], and all spot or flood luminaires [SR] with a lamp [SR] or lamps rated at a total of more than nine hundred (900) lumens [SR], shall not emit any direct light above a horizontal plane through the lowest direct light [SR] emitting part of the luminaire [SR]. Any luminaire [SR...
Light Trespass & Shielding
Elgin caps light spilling from community facility, business, and industrial lots onto residential zoned property or a public street right-of-way at one-half horizontal footcandle. Section 19.13.130(D) sets the limit, and section 19.13.135 requires readings from a portable light meter held three and one-half feet above the ground.
Elgin Light Trespass Limit: One-Half Footcandle
Some RestrictionsElgin Municipal Code § 19.13.130(D); § 19.13.135
The maximum light trespass [SR] permitted to spill over onto any residential zoned property or public street right-of-way from any community facility, business, or industrial zoned property shall not exceed one-half (½) horizontal footcandles. ... Light levels of both direct light [SR] and indirect light [SR] shall be measured in footcandles [SR] with a direct reading, portable light meter. Rea...
Billboard Lighting
Elgin doesn't regulate billboard lighting because it prohibits billboards outright: § 19.50.110(G) bans "off-premises graphics," the code's term for street graphics commonly called billboards. Any street graphic that is legally on-site, including illuminated ones, must instead follow the general sign-lighting rule in § 19.50.060.
Elgin Bans Off-Premises Billboard Signs
Heavy RestrictionsElgin Municipal Code § 19.50.110(G)
19.50.110. - Prohibited. The following street graphics shall be prohibited in the city: A.Graphics that by color, location, or design resemble or conflict with traffic-control graphics or signals.B.Street graphics attached to light poles or standards.C.Portable street graphics, except for temporary graphics authorized in this chapter...G.Off-premises graphics.
Looking for Kane County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Elgin city rules.
Outdoor Lighting in Kane County →