Outdoor Lighting in Jacksonville, FL (2026)
3 verified outdoor lighting rules for Jacksonville, Florida, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Dark Sky Rules
Jacksonville shields outdoor lighting use by use rather than through a single citywide dark-sky code: filling stations and service stations must hold illumination at property lines to 0.5 foot-candles next to homes and 1.0 foot-candle elsewhere, ban sag and drop lenses, and cap parking-lot poles at 21 feet under Sec. 656.401(k)(17). Auto laundries face a similar 0.5 foot-candle cap and a shielding mandate under Sec. 656.401(nn)(4).
Jacksonville Outdoor Lighting Shielding Rules
Some RestrictionsJacksonville Ordinance Code § 656.401(k)(17); § 656.401(nn)(4)
(k)Filling stations and service stations....17.All sag lenses, drop lenses and convex lenses shall be prohibited. Illumination levels at all property lines shall not exceed 0.5 foot candles ("f.c.") when the building or parking areas are located adjacent to a conforming residential use, and shall not exceed 1.0 f.c. when abutting other non-residential properties. All lighting lamp sources withi...
Light Trespass & Shielding
Jacksonville's zoning code bars glare and excessive light from spilling onto neighboring property, requiring parking lots, storage yards, schools and other lit sites to shield fixtures so illumination isn't visible from residential zones.
Jacksonville Light Trespass Rules
Some RestrictionsOrdinance Code § 656.401(o)(1)(vi)
If the facilities are lighted, lighting shall be designed and installed so as to prevent glare or excessive light on adjacent property. No source of illumination shall be allowed in connection with a parking lot if such source of illumination would be visible from a residentially-zoned district to the extent that it interferes with the residential use of that area.
Billboard Lighting
An offsite sign within 200 feet of a residentially zoned district in Jacksonville must be nonilluminated and can't exceed 400 square feet, under the nonconforming-sign standards of Ordinance Code Section 320.414(b)(2), even though such a sign may otherwise be grandfathered from the Zoning Code's general distance limits.
Jacksonville Billboard Lighting Limits Near Homes
Some RestrictionsJacksonville Ordinance Code § 320.414(b)(2)
Any lawful nonconforming off-site sign which is nonconforming because of distance limitations shall not be required to be removed, changed or altered to conform to the distance limitations established in Section 656.1303; provided that any off-site sign located within 200 feet of any residentially zoned district shall be nonilluminated and shall not exceed a maximum of 400 square feet in area, ...