Outdoor Lighting in Salt Lake County, UT (2026)

3 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 5 cities in Salt Lake County, Utah.

Verified from official government sources

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

Dark Sky Rules

Outdoor lighting in Salt Lake County's Foothills and Canyons Overlay Zone must point down: light poles and building-mounted fixtures need fully shielded luminaires directed downward under Table 19.72.1(X) of § 19.72.170. The lone exception is outdoor recreational facility lighting, capped at sixty feet for public facilities and eighteen feet on private residential property.

Salt Lake County FCOZ Shielded Lighting Rule

Some Restrictions

Salt Lake County Code §19.72.170, Table 19.72.1(X)

Light poles for public outdoor recreational facilities are limited to sixty feet in height. Light poles for outdoor recreational facilities on private residential property are limited to eighteen feet in height. Both require site plan review which may require restrictions on locations and hours of illumination based upon impacts on adjoining properties. X With the exception of light poles for...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Light Trespass & Shielding

In Salt Lake County's unincorporated MD-1 and MD-3 mixed development zones, outdoor light fixtures are capped at 18 feet, must be low-intensity and shielded, and directed away from adjacent residential property or uses.

MD Zone Outdoor Lighting Limits in Salt Lake County

Some Restrictions

Salt Lake County Code §19.55.130

The maximum height of luminaries shall be eighteen feet unless the planning commission requires a lower height as part of the conditional use approval. The light shall be low intensity, shielded from uses on adjoining lots, and directed away from adjacent property in a residential zone or an adjacent residential use. All parking luminaries, except those required for security, must be extinguish...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Billboard Lighting

Billboard lighting in unincorporated Salt Lake County is confined to the sign face itself: Code §19.82.185.H bars any lighting source that is directly visible to passersby. Internally lit displays and electronic message centers go further still, they are permitted only on billboards adjacent to the interstate freeway system, and even there the copy can change no more than once every 24 hours.