Outdoor Lighting in Sussex County, DE (2026)
2 rules for unincorporated Sussex County, Delaware.
Verified from official government sources
Light Trespass & Shielding
Sussex County's only codified exterior-lighting standard sits in the filling-station rules for the B-1 Neighborhood Business District: § 115-69A(11)(i) requires that 'exterior lighting must not cause glare hazardous to passing motorists and annoying to adjacent properties.' The county has no general residential light-trespass ordinance; this glare standard applies specifically to gas stations and similar fuel-sale uses.
Sussex County Filling Station Exterior Lighting Standard
Light Restrictions§ 115-69A(11)(i)
Filling stations, subject to the following requirements: ... A solid fence or wall at least six feet high must be erected along all property lines adjoining a residential district. Such fence or wall shall, on a side property line, terminate 20 feet from the front property line. ... Exterior lighting must not cause glare hazardous to passing motorists and annoying to adjacent properties.
Billboard Lighting
Sussex County caps every illuminated sign, including off-premises billboards, at 750 candelas per square meter after dusk under § 115-161B(5)(a), plus a 0.3-footcandle limit above ambient light measured at a distance keyed to sign size.
Sussex County Illuminated Sign Luminance Caps
Some RestrictionsSussex County Code § 115-161B(5)
All illuminated signs, including electronic message centers, must comply with the following maximum luminance standards: (a) No illuminated sign, including electronic message centers, shall have a maximum luminance level greater than 750 cd/m2 or nits at least 1/2 hour before apparent sunset, as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)... All illuminated signs mu...
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