Outdoor Lighting in Mesa County, CO (2026)

2 rules for unincorporated Mesa County, Colorado.

Verified from official government sources

Note: These county rules apply to unincorporated areas of Mesa County. If you live within an incorporated city, that city's own rules apply: see the city list below.

Dark Sky Rules

Unincorporated Mesa County caps outdoor light sources at 35 feet in height and requires full cutoff fixtures on pole, building, and tree-mounted lights over streets, sidewalks, and parking lots between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. under Land Development Code Section 8.07(F). Building facade floodlighting is banned during those same overnight hours, though agricultural uses are exempt.

Mesa County Outdoor Lighting Cutoff Rules

Some Restrictions

Mesa County Land Development Code § 8.07(F)

All light sources that are located outside of a building shall conform to the standards set forth below; however, all agricultural uses are exempt from these standards: 1. Floodlights shall not be used to light all or any portion of any building facade between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. 2. No outdoor light sources shall be mounted more than thirty-five (35) feet above the ground. 3. ...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Billboard Lighting

Mesa County requires outdoor advertising signs lit by indirect or external illumination to use only downward-facing, downcast light that keeps beams confined to the sign face and out of drivers' and neighbors' direct line of sight.

Mesa County Downcast Lighting for Billboards

Some Restrictions

Mesa County Land Development Code § 9.11.C

Outdoor advertising signs that are illuminated by indirect or external illumination shall use only downward facing, downcast light to confine direct light beams to the sign and out of the direct vision.

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

All Mesa County ordinances

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