2 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Orange County, North Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
Chapel Hill's Land Use Management Ordinance Section 5.11 sets real outdoor-lighting standards: fixtures shielded to avoid glare and light spill, non-cutoff lights mounted no higher than 15 feet and full-cutoff lights no higher than 35 feet. North Carolina has no statewide dark-sky law.
Chapel Hill, NC, Land Use Management Ordinance, Sec. 5.11.2 (Mounting Heights)
Outdoor lighting, except sports and athletic field lighting, shall be mounted at heights no greater than fifteen (15) feet for non-cutoff lights; and no greater than thirty-five (35) feet for full cutoff lights.
Chapel Hill's LUMO holds light spilling onto neighboring property to 0.3 foot-candles at ground level, a tighter cap than most cities. Any development that pushes off-site light above that line, or above the existing level where ambient light already exceeds it, violates Section 5.11.4.
Chapel Hill, NC, Land Use Management Ordinance, Sec. 5.11.4 (Offsite Illumination)
Increases in illumination on off-site property shall not result in lighting levels in excess of 0.3 foot-candles, measured at ground level. Where existing ambient off-site lighting levels are in excess of 0.3 foot-candles, no increase in measurable off-site lighting levels will be allowed as a result of outdoor lighting in the development.
1 cities in Orange County have their own outdoor lighting rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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