Outdoor Lighting in Waukesha, WI (2026)
3 verified outdoor lighting rules for Waukesha, Wisconsin, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Dark Sky Rules
Waukesha's zoning performance standards cap the glow from parking lots, product displays, and security lighting at 0.5 footcandles measured at the property line, and let the City require shielded fixtures or cutoff optics to keep light from spilling onto neighboring property.
Outdoor Lighting Shielding Rules in Waukesha
Some RestrictionsWaukesha Municipal Code § 22.59(10)
LIGHTING. No exterior lighting used for parking lots, recreational facilities, product display, or security shall interfere with the operation motor vehicles and uses of land in the vicinity of the light source. These requirements shall not apply to lighting placed in a public right-of-way for public safety. Type. Shielded luminaries, or luminaries with cutoff optics, and careful fixture placem...
Light Trespass & Shielding
Waukesha caps exterior lighting for parking, recreation, display and security uses at 0.5 footcandles measured at the property line, requires shielded fixtures, and bars any light fixture from a required buffer yard between commercial and residential land.
Light Trespass Limits in Waukesha
Some RestrictionsWaukesha Municipal Code § 22.59
LIGHTING. No exterior lighting used for parking lots, recreational facilities, product display, or security shall interfere with the operation motor vehicles and uses of land in the vicinity of the light source. These requirements shall not apply to lighting placed in a public right-of-way for public safety. Type. Shielded luminaries, or luminaries with cutoff optics, and careful fixture placem...
Billboard Lighting
Electronic billboard faces in Waukesha are capped at 500 nits at night and 3,000 nits during the day, and can't exceed the citywide outdoor-lighting standard in Section 22.59(1)(c). Electronically-illuminated billboards also must stay 500 feet from any residential lot, farther than the 400-foot buffer for non-electric billboards.
Billboard Lighting Limits in Waukesha
Some RestrictionsWaukesha Municipal Code § 27.05 (Billboard Signs, Electronic Displays; Location Restrictions)
Electronic Displays. ... The electronic display portion of the Billboard Sign may not exceed 500 nits in design luminance at night or 3000 nits in design luminance during daylight hours, but in no case may illumination from the Billboard Sign exceed the standard in Municipal Code §22.59(1)(c). ... Location Restrictions. Billboard Signs shall not be visible from any lot in a residential district...
Looking for Waukesha County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Waukesha city rules.
Outdoor Lighting in Waukesha County →