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Outdoor Lighting in Pitt County, NC (2026)

2 rules for unincorporated Pitt County, North Carolina.

Verified from official government sources

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

Dark Sky Rules

Pitt County's zoning ordinance requires every detached outdoor light fixture on a use subject to development standards to be a full cutoff fixture, one whose housing blocks any glare or light dispersion above a 90-degree horizontal plane from the fixture's base. Detached fixtures are capped at 20 feet unless a conditional rezoning raises that to 35 feet.

Pitt County Full Cutoff Outdoor Lighting Rule

Some Restrictions

Pitt County Zoning Ordinance § 8(B)(3)

Outdoor lighting structures shall be located, angled, shielded, or limited in intensity so as to cast no direct light upon adjacent property and to avoid the creation of a visual safety hazard to passing motorists, pedestrians and land uses of adjacent properties. ... b. All fixtures must be full cutoff fixtures only. Full cutoff means a luminaire or light fixture that by design of the fixture ...

Billboard Lighting

Outdoor advertising signs illuminated in unincorporated Pitt County must direct and shield their lighting so the light source itself is never visible to motorists or neighbors, and flashing, rotating, or intermittent illumination is banned outright. Section 30 of Planning & Development Services Ordinance No. 7 also ties electrical work to the State Building Code's electrical volume.

Pitt County Requires Shielded Billboard Lighting

Some Restrictions

Pitt County Planning & Development Services Ordinance No. 7 (Outdoor Advertising Signs), § 30, Same - Illumination (Ord. of 5-2-88, § 5.8(B))

Outdoor advertising signs may be illuminated in accordance with the following requirements: A. Lighting shall be directed to the face of the sign and shall be shielded so that the source of the light is not visible and does not create a hazard or nuisance for motorists or nearby residents. B. No flashing, rotating, or intermittent illumination shall be permitted. C. Any illuminated sign shall m...

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